Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B
Readings: 2 Chronicles 36:14-16,19-23; Psalm 136(137):1-6; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21
10 March 2024
St Paul, writing to the Ephesians, reminds us that God loved us with so much love, that he was generous with His mercy: when we were dead through our sins, He brought us to life with Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved.
Yet, God’s grace can work in strange ways for us (i.e. strange for us, not for God!). In the first reading, God’s grace worked through Cyrus, King of Persia – who was not a Jewish king, but a pagan king. Just like the three wise men, the pagans who came from the East, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to visit the newborn Jesus, God saved the people from their exile, their captivity in Babylon through the pagan King Cyrus.
The lesson for us is that the grace and the love of God for us is for all peoples – just as the Church is there for all people, and includes all peoples among the People of God. As our Gospel reminds us, God so loved the world 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 only Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through Him the world might be saved. In Jesus, our Saviour, there is no Jew or Greek, Male or Female, and so on – we are all saved by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
In the Gospel, the word for healing is the same as the word for being saved. Many are healed means many are saved. To be saved is to enter into a healing, life-saving relationship with Jesus. This saving relationship is established on the Cross – for as the first reading reminds us, 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 the ancient culture of the time, snakes were often viewed as both the cause of death through their poisonous bite, but also snake venom was viewed as a remedy for healing – in addition, the shedding of the skin of the snake being viewed as a symbol of rebirth and renewal. In this regard, for example, the logo of the Australian Medical Association features a snake wrapped around a staff, much like Moses lifting up the serpent in the desert and Jesus being lifted up on the Cross.
So, life and death, healing and salvation are intimately related in the view of our Gospel authors. Through faith, we enter into a relationship with Jesus, such that we are healed of our sins, illnesses and in addition, our moment of death is transformed into life to the full, eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus – let us remember that without Good Friday, there is no Easter joy, just as Easter Joy without Good Friday lacks credibility and authenticity in a world which is still experiencing much suffering, death, destruction, injustices and so on.
Another point to reflect on is the meaning of death. We have seen Euthanasia become a real issue in many Western countries. Australia has passed Voluntary Assisted Dying laws in many States, allowing doctors with the consent of dying patients to put these patients to death. Yet, the deeper issue remains that of how we can come to be at peace with death, how we can live in hope in the face of death, and how we can prepare to meet loved ones, family members who have gone before us as we wait for loved ones and family members coming after us. Without Jesus, Prince of Peace, Our Saviour, and our source of Hope, we would be unable to respond adequately to these questions.
So, let us pray that in this climate of Voluntary Assisted Dying, the Church may continue to bear united witness to Jesus, who is our Good News at the moment of our death.
Our Lady, Queen of Sorrows, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Deacon Michael Tan is Deacon Assisting at St John the Evangelist Parish, Riverstone.
