Jesus said to Nicodemus:
‘The Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him will be condemned;
but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,
because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.
On these grounds is sentence pronounced:
that though the light has come into the world men have shown
they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil.
And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it,
for fear his actions should be exposed;
but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light,
so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.’
(John 3:14-21)
This Sunday marks a change in the Lenten focus. We are no longer so absorbed by our own limitations and weaknesses in faith. We are more confident of God’s kindness, forgiveness and healing without which we would never dare embark on this journey. We look forward to the Easter celebrations with joy and hope.
On our journey from temptation to transfiguration we are becoming, through faith in Christ, the living presence of God in the world, the light in the darkness.
The first reading speaks about the re-building of the temple in Jerusalem – a reference back to last Sunday’s Gospel. For the ancient Jews the re-building of their temple was a moment filled with hope and expectation.
Last Sunday Jesus promised the building of a new temple to house the living presence of God and to be the meeting place between God and us. Our Lenten journey is rebuilding us into the living Body of Christ, into dwelling places for God and meeting places between human beings and God. This is clearly seen when human needs meet God’s compassion through us. That’s when God’s love and light shine in the darkness of human lives. In the last year there has been plenty of darkness around us. But there have also been many moments when light shone through human beings doing concrete good deeds for others.
Today’s Gospel contains a number of important statements of our faith: God loved the world so much that he sent his Son, not to condemn, but to save; the Son must be lifted up (crucified and resurrected) so that all who believe might have eternal life; those who do the truth come out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that their good deeds are done in God.
The Gospel reassures us of God’s love and our salvation in Christ, and calls us to be the Light, to do the truth of God’s love by being God’s heart in the world.
If you can't be at Mass this weekend why not download our Celebrating At Home liturgy.
Celebrating At Home 4th Sunday of Lent Year B [PDF]
Celebrating At Home 4th Sunday of Lent Year B [ePub]
