HOMILY OF 4TH SUNDAY IN LENT (LAETARE SUNDAY) — YEAR A
HOMILY OF 4TH SUNDAY IN LENT (LAETARE SUNDAY) — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: GOD´S PERCEPTION IS DEEPER THAN MAN´S!
BY: Fr. Casmir Nkamuke
1 Sam 16:1b,6-7,10-13a/2 Eph 5:8-14/John 9:1-41
Today is Laetare Sunday. It is coined from the first word of the entrance antiphon which invites those who mourn to rejoice and suck from the consoling breast of Jerusalem. The liturgy of today teaches us than God´s perception is deeper than ours.
In the first reading, Samuel is made to understand that God does not perceive things the way man does. Samuel had considered Eliab´s physical features and concluded that he was God´s choice. For God however, it is how willing we are at heart to do his will that matters and not physical appearance. Thus, David was chosen by God and described by him as a man after his heart.
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In the second reading, St. Paul tells us that Christ is our light and through him we are illuminated. Listening to the Good News and avoiding evil deeds are sure ways to experience divine illumination.
Of all the miracles of Jesus, it is only today´s gospel that records the healing one with infirmity from birth. In the Jewish tradition, such type of infirmity was interpreted as either an ancestral curse or that the sick person was cursed from birth. For Jesus however, the fate suffered by the blind man was to manifest God´s works in him. What the disciples interpreted as a stumbling block was interpreted by Jesus Christ as a stepping stone for divine manifestation. This manifestation is evident not only in the healing of the man´s physical blindness, but also in his growth in the knowledge and acceptance of Jesus as the Lord and Saviour.
Beloved in the Lord, the invitation to rejoice today in the heat of the Lenten Season passes a message. It reminds us that God sees and thinks deeper than we humans. It reminds us that the suffering and death of Christ won salvation for us. It invites us to joyfully accompany Christ in his passion through fasting, prayer and almsgiving. It reminds us that the challenges we face may be means of preparing us for an encounter with God and for a deeper knowledge of him. God reminds us that the world does not begin and end with our viewpoint or with public opinion. What matters more is not how we perceive our good times and our bad times. Rather, by entrusting ourselves to divine will, we will see deeper and experience God´s light in our words and actions.
Amidst the challenging situations we face in life, the Church calls us to rejoice. God´s thoughts and deeds are deeper than ours. We make the right choices when we align ourselves to his will like Samuel. When we see the challenges that we face as instruments through which God´s work manifests in us, he gives us the grace to carry every burden and restores us not only by physically removing these obstacles, but also by leading us to a deeper knowledge of him and his ways. When we surrender our hearts to him, his goodness will manifest in our lives.
As we are invited to rejoice and be hopeful today, may God give us the grace to persevere amidst the challenges of life and to grow in his knowledge and illumination, assured of his presence even in the darkest moment of our lives.
Happy Sunday
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