4th Sunday of Lent
2 Chron. 36: 14-16, 19-23; Psalm 136; Eph. 2: 4-10; John 3:14-21
Read: God did not send His Son in this world to judge the world, but so that the world would be saved by Him.
Reflect: “From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead”. That is what we acknowledge when we say the Apostles’ Creed. However, did we ever ask ourselves what is meant by “from there He shall come”? When we say “From there, from where?” Probably we did not ask this question, because the answer seems obvious to us. He is to come back from the heavens. The Risen Christ promised to be with His disciples “always till the end of time” Mat. 28:20). This means that we need not wait until He returns, and the throne on which He sits to make judgment, should not be in heaven but on this earth. Where? And here lies the surprise; it is from the cross that He will judge the world. It is Jesus Crucified that went against the expectations and values of this world. He judges these losses as winners, service as power, poverty as wealth, losses as gains, humility as a victory, and death as a birth. Let us look towards Christ Crucified because only He says the truth regarding that should be made by mankind. We should accept and follow only His truth. The truth of the Cross should not create fear in us. This indeed is the greatest condemnation of evil. However, this the reason why the sinner should be happy and hopeful. From the Cross also we hear Jesus telling us” “I have not come to condemn the world, but to save it” (John 12:47).
Pray: O Crucified Jesus, give us the grace not to fear the judgment of mankind, but to go along with your judgment!
Act: Let us move near the light so that we will show that God is in all we do, by doing what is good.