Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
We are now about halfway through our season of Lent; yesterday began our fourth week dedicated to repentance. But in the midst of this repentance, we are also reminded that Lent is not simply about our repentance. Although we take on various Lenten sacrifices, we are ultimately called beyond these to the beauty of our salvation. In this season of Lent, we are called to praise God, for He has rescued us, as the psalm response for today proclaims (Ps 30:2a).
In today’s first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, we get a sense about what the new Kingdom of God brought by Jesus should be like: it is new heavens and a new earth. For though God created us good and made us in his own image, we sinned through our own free will. Now, in Christ Jesus, God has found a way to redeem us. He saves humanity by becoming human, suffering and dying. And this act of sacrifice frees us once more, so that we may live in the freedom of God. This is the joy that we carry with us this Lent. It is not the joy of material possessions, financial security, luxurious livings, or sumptuous dinners. This is a true and deep abiding joy, with us even in the midst of our sacrifices and penance.
It is the joy of belief in a God who has our well-being at heart – a God who gives us the greatest gift of all in the possibility of eternal life in heaven, beginning when we partake of the Kingdom of God on earth by participating in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. In today’s gospel reading from John, we witness the story of a royal official petitioning Jesus to heal his son. Jesus seems reluctant, protesting that the people need signs and wonders in order to believe.
But despite this, Jesus does not refuse. There is already the beginnings of faith in this royal official. He believes in Jesus enough to beg Jesus to heal his son, and Jesus wants the best for this man. And so we hear that “he and his whole household came to believe” (Jn 4:53). They came to believe in God who heals – God who loves us and cares for us.
As we look forward to Easter, we must remind ourselves during the remainder of this Lent that we are called to come to believe in Jesus. As amazing and surprising as it might seem, God saves us, redeeming us by his own blood. Lent is about Easter, and in Easter, we see the glory of the resurrected Lord, the triumph of life over death. Could there be a greater joy than our faith in Easter? Today, take some time to step back from your Lenten sacrifice and ask yourself how it is helping you to come to believe more fully in Jesus. How can we refocus so that we can keep our eyes on the real point of Lent?
- Maria Morrow