Sunday, March 14, 2021

 THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

(II Chronicles 16: 14-16.19-23; Ephesians 2: 4-10; John 3: 14-21)

Let's recall for a minute the “great recession” of 2008. The overvaluation of homes in previous years resulted in a market crash. Many homeowners abandoned their mortgages causing several banks to fail. Because there was no money to promote business, many workers lost their jobs. There were other causes as well, but the result was difficult times for many people around the world. Perhaps it was not as big a crisis as we just experienced with Covid. But in this case the blame can be placed on definitive people: the financial and government leaders who did not oversee money speculation well.

A year after the "great recession," Pope Benedict wrote an encyclical advising leaders of their responsibilities. He emphasized what he called the "principle of gratuitousness." He said that anyone who has a high position in government, business, or another sector, must remember his or her origins. The executive did not reach the top rank without the help of other people. There is no completely “self-made man” or woman. All have had relatives, mentors, friends, and perhaps public support that have contributed to their success. Therefore, in gratitude for what they have received, they should take care of the good of others. This same "principle of gratuitousness" serves as the key to understanding the readings of Mass today.

The second reading of the Letter to the Ephesians says that salvation came to them through the "kindness” of God. It emphasizes that the Ephesians had done nothing to put God in debt to them. Much less could they have achieved salvation by their own works since salvation consists in eternal life. They only had to open themselves to grace by believing in Jesus Christ. We are beneficiaries of the same grace with the same benefit. We also have to believe in Jesus Christ to receive eternal life.

The gospel tells us what we have to do to believe in Christ. It is not a matter of being born into a Christian family as if salvation were one’s heritage. Nor is it a matter of saying "I believe" as if faith were a word game. As the gospel indicates, the believer draws close to Jesus, the light of the world. From him the believer will learn how to live so that the world will see his or her good deeds. For the most part, those who follow Jesus are the same ones who raise their families in love and work hard for the good of everyone.

A lawyer was found in the church the other day praying the Stations of the Cross alone. He and his wife raise four children, taking them to Mass every Sunday and on major feast days. The man works with a law firm that is especially helpful to the city's black minority. Perhaps many here in the church resemble this man. In the words of Jesus, you live the truth by coming to the light.

We still haven't said anything about the first reading. It is part of the rich history of Israel. Because the people rejected God's law, they were punished with exile in Babylon. However, God forgave him and sent Cyrus to free him. Certainly these people were in debt to God for their freedom. In gratitude they should have lived the truth by coming to the light.