4th Sunday of Lent Year C. (Laetare Sunday) By Tobe Eze

4^th Sunday of Lent Year C. (Laetare Sunday)

First Reading

Joshua 5:9a, 10-12

Second Reading

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Gospel

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

THEME: EVER LOVING FATHER.

Since creation of man till these days, God has been looking for any possible means of bringing us back to himself and we have been insisting in our journey away from home. Many ways he has planned for man’s salvation and has fulfilled them but we that those plans are meant to save are busy going our ways in doing evil. He sent his son to us and when he was leaving us, he did not leave us as orphan rather, he gave us himself as sacrament and other sacrament for our salvation but we are still journeying away. Continue Reading.................................

A story goes of a man who had four sons. The first two sons dropped out of school and joined business because there was no money to train them in the school. The third through the help of in-laws and the first two sons, he was able to study to the higher institution and after all got a good job. The last son did not go to school not because there was no money but he decided not. He said he wanted to join business. He went and joined his brothers to learn their business. After 8 months there, he decided to go home that he was no longer interested. He said he wanted to learn handiwork. He was sponsored by his brothers, after one year and three months, he quitted that one again and decided to be in the village and be doing nothing. His father after long discussions with him, called his two other sons to beg them to start something for him. They accepted and he started a business in the village. He was doing well at the initial stage and at a point, he started living loose life and women ate his shop down. He was left with nothing. The father pleaded again and he was reestablished. He did as at the first time. His father intervened and he was reestablished again. He did this for four consecutive times and was also reestablished. The fifth time, his brothers could not take it again and refused to do anything for him again. He joined bad group and was living a criminal life. He was arrested many times but his father will always go for his bail. The last time he was arrested, his brothers and two sisters (married) insisted that he will not be bailed but their parents went ahead to bail him. They said, they cannot leave their son to die in the police cell. He continued living that type of life till he grew to the age of marriage. His father helped him to marry, after the marriage, he started getting himself. He was reestablished again and he picked from there though very late for him but the difference is clear. Why this long story?

The first reading presents us with the promise of God to Joshua on what he will do to his people Israel. He heard their cry in Egypt and delivered them from their hands and are now taking them home to a land filled with milk and honey. The Lord in this season of lent is leading us back to our home. The church is in this season asking us to help God in this work of salvation by making fertile our ground of salvation through our behaviours.

God has reconciled us to himself through Christ his son. Why are we still sticking to our old look, old nature and old behaviour when God has redeemed us? Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. This new creation is done by the loving father who is ever ready to welcome us whenever we come to him in faith.

The gospel summarized the love the father has for us and all his children scattered throughout the world. The son in the first place wished his father death because a man has to die first before his things are shared but he did not care about that. He left him without telling him where he was going and did not care to talk to him or to know he was all those years he was away but he did not care about it. He wasted everything and that was the height of it but he did not care. These and other qualities he exhibited on the return of the son show us the type of God that we have as father.

Just like the father in the story above did not get tired of his son who was living a wayward life, God does not get tired of loving us and welcoming us whenever we come back to him. The church is inviting us to rejoice today because of the type of father that we have and it is very necessary. Today being Laetare Sunday is a day of joy just as we have Gaudate Sunday in advent. Let us rejoice for we have a loving father. THANKS AND HAPPY SUNDAY.