4th Sunday of Lent Year B. By Tobe Eze

1.       When things want to turn around for you, the place, state and people you are with matter a lot. Mind the place, state and people you go, are and stay with. Tobe Eze.

4th Sunday of Lent Year B.

FIRST READING
2 Chronicles 36:14—16, 19—23

SECOND READING
Ephesians 2:4—10

GOSPEL
John 3:14—21

THEME: OUR CONDEMNATION COMES FROM US WHILE OUR SALVATION COMES FROM GOD.

As people have changed RIP from Rest in Peace to RETURN IF POSSIBLE, so if wish to borrow it to say, be saved outside God if possible. Our salvation can only come from God through our sincere effort.

Let me start with this short story to show what we do to God with our behaviors. A blind man married one beautiful woman, though he does not know how his wife looks like because he was blind. The woman was doing everything possible to make sure her husband do not feel the pain of being blind so much. They gave birth to three child. As time went on, he developed one ugly behaviour of complaining in everything, everyday, everyone and everywhere. When they give him food without fish, he will say. This one I am eating without fish, I know you people are now eating one person, one full fish. In other to please him, the next meal, they gave him fish and he said. This one I am given fish, it means, you are eating chicken. Still in other to please him, they gave him chicken and he said again. This one I am given chicken, it means, you people have killed a goat for yourselves. They gave him goat and he said again, this one I am given goat today, it means you people are eating cow. At that point, his eyes opened and he saw that his family was staving just to make him happy, instantly he changed and cried for all he has done to his family.

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Each time we talk about the stubbornness of the people of Israel, we should know that we talk about our own stubbornness no longer theirs. Like the Israelites we also reject God’s blessing and mercies on us. Prophets where sent to them but they did not listen to them like in the first reading. They even went to the extent of killing them and we do the same today. Despite that, God still showed them his mercy at last, God is still showing us his mercies. The introduction of the second reading summarizes the theme of today’s reflection. Brothers and sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ—by grace you have been saved—, raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Even when we refuse to come to him, he brings himself to us begging us to welcome him. (Revelation 3:20) He knocks on the doors of our hearts. St. Paul in his letter to the Romans asked. What can separate us from the love of God? At last, he said NOTHING (Romans 8:31-39). For the love God has for us is too much. For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son (John 3:16).

Why do we choose darkness instead of the light God has given us? Like in the story above, we are given seven sacraments for our own good but we insistently move away from them all the time. We long always for our condemnation but God in his mercy and love gives us opportunities every now and then. Jesus complained of us in the Gospel of Matthew 11:16-17 "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: "'We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' And in the parable of the wicked servants that killed the servants sent to them to collect the proceeds from the farm they were given to take care of and they killed and wounded all that were sent to them including the son of the owner (Matthew 21:3346). We were brought to the family of God through the sacrament of baptism but we prefer our old nature of darkness. Some of us receive baptism just to count themselves among those that received baptism not that we are ready to follow Christ in our lives. Easter is fast approaching and many youths, children, old men and women will receive baptism. After that what next? We bring our condemnation upon ourselves. God is ever ready and always bringing us out of that darkness. Let us follow him and live that our dark nature for from there our condemnation comes and our salvation comes from only him.

THANKS AND HAPPY SUNDAY.