FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT: Theme: A TIME TO MISS HOME

READINGS AT MASS

2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

Psalm 137

Eph. 2:4-10

John 3:14-21

Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...

Today's Responsorial Psalm is a tearful melancholic song probably sung by a group of devout Jews during the Babylonian captivity. Serving as a link between the First Reading and the Gospel, it brings out clearly the message for this Fourth Sunday of Lent. As a tearful and emotional song, it portrays the character of a sinful Christian who desires to go back home to God; who desires to restore his long lost innocence.

The Jews sat by the rivers of Babylon, the land of their captors and wept. They cried when they remembered Zion. The memory of Zion, the place where they enjoyed true freedom in the presence of God was a beautiful thing to them and the fact that they have destroyed that beautiful gift through their own sinful actions caused them great pain. As long as the beautiful memories remained, they were never to feel comfortable in the strange land of sin. They did not enjoy themselves let alone entertain their captors with the beautiful melodies of their 'divine homeland.' They simply could not forget Jerusalem. 

Beloved in Christ, as sinners, we must learn to remember home fondly from the depth of our sins. The most important thing is not how deep we fall into sin but how profound the nostalgia and the desire to go back home to the presence of God is. Every now and then, we find ourselves in the strange and foreign land of sin. That is only our human nature but we must never forget who we are and where we are coming from. We cannot settle down and feel comfortable in our state of sin. Babylon, a sinful land of captivity, is not a place to stay forever.

A good Christian is the one who does not allow the fresh and beautiful waters of a foreign country to refresh him. Rather, he fill his eyes with tears. We must miss home: the state of holiness. 

The Season of Lent gives us the opportunity to also sit by the rivers of our "Babylons" (our sinful states) and recall with tearful nostalgia the holiness, beauty and solemnity that we used to have and could have had in the presence of God had our sins not sent us so far into foreign lands. This Deep feeling of nostalgia is a good thing for our faith. It is a feeling that will not permit us to feel comfortable in a foreign land until we repent and return (to God). 

The land of sin, like the land of Babylon, has so many things  to offer but these cannot satisfy a Christian's heart so long as he keeps the beautiful memories of his solemn Homeland. May we never forget our 'Jerusalem'. May our desire to return to the presence of God be ever stronger during this season of grace.

PRAYER

Lord, you have given us this season of grace and reconciliation. Pondering upon the beauty of life in your presence, may I hasten to return home to you. Amen.

May God bless you.

-Rev. Fr. Kenneth Debre

Sunday, March 14, 2021.

Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe.