Easter is Near

Easter is Near

March 10, 2024    4th Sunday in Lent - B
by Dcn. Bob Bonomi

If I said, “John 3:16”, most of you would probably know to what I was referring. Even those who are not particularly religious might know. It may be the best known of all quotes from the Gospels, if not the entire Bible.  Up until a few years ago, you’d see it everywhere – on religious signs, on bumper stickers and even etched in the grease paint used to reduce glare under football players’ eyes.

John 3:16.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

Today we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Lent, referred to as Laetáre Sunday – a time to “rejoice”.  Laetáre Sunday, like its counterpart Gaudeté Sunday – “joyful” – during Advent, marks the half-way point in our penitential seasons and the rose-colored vestments that clergy wear are signs of joyous anticipation of the celebration coming in a couple of weeks.   (Remember: Everyone knows / Clergy wear Rose / for only girls are pretty in Pink.)

Which brings us back to John 3:16.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…”  In a sense, Jesus is a double gift.  First, his life is a gift in showing us how to prepare ourselves for eternal life.  Second, his death is a gift in redeeming us from ourselves – our sins. As St. Paul said to the Ephesians, we accept this gift of God’s grace to us through our Faith and belief in Jesus.

And although John 3:16 is a sign of God’s great gift to us of His son Jesus, I think we tend to skip over what Jesus says both before and after his famous quote.  First he reveals to Nicodemus that he must be “lifted up” as the seraph serpent was, alluding to the necessity of his upcoming death on a cross, and he follows it with the sad statement that there will be people who will refuse to believe in him and his message and so condemn themselves to eternal darkness.
It is sad to say, but sometimes we can find darkness - comforting.  I don’t mean the physical darkness that we need in order to sleep, but the spiritual darkness that blocks the desire to reach out for God.  

We can get caught up in the glitz and glamour of the material world, but when that happens, the brightness of those lights fail to illuminate the soul.  There remains a spiritual darkness that leads us away from God.

Nowhere did I find that expressed more clearly than when I looked up the quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson: “ 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”  The sheer number of people who have taken exception to this quote, either because they never overcame the pain of the loss of a loved one through break-up or death, or because they were afraid of ever experiencing that pain, points to Jesus’ sad comment that “people preferred darkness to light”.

And yet, there is hope for all of us.  There is joy in the world today.  Even in a world of neon lights (or I guess that would be LED-colored ones today), true light and joy can still be found, if we would just open ourselves to the healing love that comes from living in the light of Jesus.

One final thought.  Mental health professionals are quick to point out that the #1 illness we face today is loneliness and depression.  Yet older adults – those who have experienced the joys and losses of life – are far less likely to feel depressed, are more likely to remember the joy they experienced in life, and more likely to live with hope for heaven.  And while having a strong faith life is no guarantee that you won’t experience loss or loneliness, there is a guarantee that God will be there for you and with you.  The light of Easter always follows the darkness of Good Friday.

So, as St. Paul said to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! … The Lord is near.” (Phil 4:4-5)   Remember, Easter is just around the corner.