Fourth Sunday of Lent

Today's Mass Readings

In today’s first reading we hear of the infidelity of the people of God, they “added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’s temple.” God, in compassion for his people, sent messengers to them. These prophets spoke the word of God to his people, calling them to repent from their evil ways and turn back to their God who loves them but they would not listen. Instead they mocked his prophets he had sent in his compassion and even despised the warnings God was giving them. Because of this God’s anger was inflamed and he handed them over to their enemies. Many were slain by the sword and the city walls were torn down. The survivors were taken captive into Babylon; they were removed from the presence of God in the temple and brought to a land they knew not.

These actions seem harsh and how do we reconcile them with what we hear in the second reading from Ephesians, “God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions.” In reflecting further on the first reading we see that God’s love was with his people; he sent messengers to encourage them to turn from their sin, but when that failed it was not God who abandoned his people but rather it was his people who had abandoned their God.
He would remain with his people who were taken into exile by living in their hearts and in the memories they have of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple. It was through their time in exile that they would grow even deeper in longing for God whom they had forgotten and even mocked when they were in the city of Jerusalem and in the presence of his Holy Temple. We hear in our psalm today, “By the stream of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.” Their exile became a blessing because of the tears and longing for what they had lost.

There are times in our live when we fall into sin and become deaf to his calling out to us and we may feel that God has abandoned us. But we must take courage in our faith that God will never leave our side, and when we feel, “dead in our transgressions” we must have faith that we will be, “brought to life with Christ” because God’s grace will save us. We must remember that our little times of “exile” can become a time of blessing if we remember all that God has done for us. That he is always at our side and will do anything to bring about the return of his people; “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.”

Reflection by Br. Placid Dale, OSB