Fourth Sunday of Lent
Readings for the Forth Sunday of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible at Universalis
Commentary:
Reading 1 Jos 5:9a, 10-12
In Joshua we are told of the successor of Moses leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land. We find them in this passage achieving the land and beginning to prosper from it. At that point the Lord withdrew the manna he had been providing as the people now had the land.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Psalm 34 is a song of prayer and thanksgiving. In this section we are given a Eucharistic reference that leads to salvation.
Reading II 2 Cor 5:17-21
St. Paul begins this passage with an image of Baptism (“Whoever is in Christ is a new creation”) which is how we are reconciled to God through Christ. He (God) goes on using Christ as the tool for the remission of sin (trespasses) and using Christians as spread that word to the world.
St. Paul then goes on to exhort the Corinthians. He calls them to faithfulness, to be reconciled with God in Christ because of Jesus’ great sacrifice for us all.
Gospel Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
The parable of the Prodigal Son is given to us again (see also Saturday of the 2nd Week of Lent). The theme of reconciliation is emphasized by one of the Lord’s most poignant stories. We identify with the sinful son who squanders his inheritance and then returns to his father, recalling his fall.
This parable is used to answer the Pharisees who are challenging Christ about eating with sinners. We are given the picture of the loving father welcoming his son home, an allusion used also in the parable of the Lost Sheep. The invitation implicit is; those who seek forgiveness find it in God.
Reflection:
The Church gives us, in scripture, a powerful tool to use in our own search for reconciliation with God. Because we know the story of the Prodigal Son so well we can see in it the early course followed by the nation of Israel.
Readings for the Forth Sunday of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible at Universalis
Commentary:
Reading 1 Jos 5:9a, 10-12
In Joshua we are told of the successor of Moses leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land. We find them in this passage achieving the land and beginning to prosper from it. At that point the Lord withdrew the manna he had been providing as the people now had the land.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Psalm 34 is a song of prayer and thanksgiving. In this section we are given a Eucharistic reference that leads to salvation.
Reading II 2 Cor 5:17-21
St. Paul begins this passage with an image of Baptism (“Whoever is in Christ is a new creation”) which is how we are reconciled to God through Christ. He (God) goes on using Christ as the tool for the remission of sin (trespasses) and using Christians as spread that word to the world.
St. Paul then goes on to exhort the Corinthians. He calls them to faithfulness, to be reconciled with God in Christ because of Jesus’ great sacrifice for us all.
Gospel Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
The parable of the Prodigal Son is given to us again (see also Saturday of the 2nd Week of Lent). The theme of reconciliation is emphasized by one of the Lord’s most poignant stories. We identify with the sinful son who squanders his inheritance and then returns to his father, recalling his fall.
This parable is used to answer the Pharisees who are challenging Christ about eating with sinners. We are given the picture of the loving father welcoming his son home, an allusion used also in the parable of the Lost Sheep. The invitation implicit is; those who seek forgiveness find it in God.
Reflection:
The Church gives us, in scripture, a powerful tool to use in our own search for reconciliation with God. Because we know the story of the Prodigal Son so well we can see in it the early course followed by the nation of Israel.
Like the Prodigal Son, Adam and Eve took what they had not earned in the Garden and their decendants found themselves in bondage in Egypt. They were started on their way home but still had not come to fully appreciate the Father’s compassion, revolting against him at Meriba and Massah. The Lord took Moses from them and left Joshua to complete the journey home. Today we hear of their homecoming. God no longer needed to support them with manna, they found the mercy of God in His promise.
That is kind of a crude analogy, but apt. In his second letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul tells us that we are all reconciled to God through Christ who, though he was without sin, accepted our sins and reunited us with God. The Lord Jesus forever revealed the path back to the Father and even now invites us to come back to him.
The Prodigal Son knew the way back to his father. He came and he asked for forgiveness. His father embraced him because he accepted him, even with his failings. The lesson for us is clear as crystal; we are invited home to the Father. Our Lenten journey is about discovering the way to seeing the course we must take. Today we are assured, no matter what we may have done to place that gulf between us and God, it will be forgiven and we will be welcomed home.
Pax
That is kind of a crude analogy, but apt. In his second letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul tells us that we are all reconciled to God through Christ who, though he was without sin, accepted our sins and reunited us with God. The Lord Jesus forever revealed the path back to the Father and even now invites us to come back to him.
The Prodigal Son knew the way back to his father. He came and he asked for forgiveness. His father embraced him because he accepted him, even with his failings. The lesson for us is clear as crystal; we are invited home to the Father. Our Lenten journey is about discovering the way to seeing the course we must take. Today we are assured, no matter what we may have done to place that gulf between us and God, it will be forgiven and we will be welcomed home.
Pax
[1] After 04/07
[2] The image presented today is “Return of the Prodigal Son” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1667-70
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