Homily
for the Fourth Sunday of Lent – Laetare
Sunday
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Sunday, 10 March 2013
My
brothers and sisters, the parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most
beloved in the Gospels. However, in the context that it is given to us on this
particular weekend – this weekend in which Mother Church asks us to “rejoice!”
-, we must look deeper into the parable and the pericopes from Scripture that
have been given to us.
Why
do we rejoice this day, in this season which, in a lot of ways, is so somber,
so pensive? The answer is given in our Second Reading, when Saint Paul reminds
the Corinthians that “whoever is in Christ is a new creation.” It is that
reality that we see played out in our First Reading when Joshua and the
Israelites celebrate the Passover in Jericho. This reality is given to us in
the celebration of the father when his prodigal son returns home. The
celebration being played out in our Scripture, and that is also being played
out right here, right now, is the very celebration and rejoicing in the life of
God given to us.
One
of the best modern examples given to us is found in the musical and movie, Fiddler on the Roof. The great song “L’chaim”
(“To Life”) is a celebration of the life of God given to his people, even in
the midst of hardship – a fact we call to mind in our celebration of the
Sacrifice of the Mass. Tevye has a great line in the song: “God would like us
to be joyful even when our hearts lie panting on the floor.” And that’s what
we’re celebrating in this particular week of Lent.
The
Passover that Joshua and the ancient Israelites were celebrating is a feast
recalling the fact that God led them through the midst of misery and slavery to
the joys of freedom. The celebration the father gave for his son who “was dead,
and has come to life again” points to the fact that God, our Father, rejoices
when we, His children, come home again to know and live in His gift of
everlasting life. That’s a reality of why and what we celebrate each time we
gather for Mass: We gather as a broken people, as arrogant children against our
Father, as sojourners in a land that is not our own, rejoicing in the very fact
that our God promises to be – and is! – with us in the very muck of our lives,
and promises to welcome us home when “our hearts lie panting on the floor” and
we need His forgiveness, the fullness of His love.
L’chaim!
To life! We are a new creation in Christ! We have been called once again to
“taste and see the goodness of the Lord”. The Lord continues to celebrate when
we are reconciled to Him, and we rejoice on account of His boundless mercy. And
while Tevye and his companions raised their glasses “to life” in the midst of
their story, in a few moment we will raise the chalice
of life, sharing in the
very Blood that unites our sufferings and secures our freedom as prodigal sons
and daughters of God.
Mother
Church presents to us these readings on this Laetare Sunday because she needs us to remember the “why” of our
suffering – separation from God on account of our sin – and the remembrance
that God calls us to experience His mercy through our reconciliation. The
prodigal son could in no way experience the father’s mercy if he hadn’t returned
in embarrassed disgrace. The Israelites couldn’t have known of God’s
faithfulness if they didn’t continue to turn away from Him. This IS NOT to say
that we need to be going out every day and sinning our eyes out. This IS to say
that, to know of God’s mercy and faithfulness ourselves, we need to celebrate
His promises to us in the celebration of the Sacraments of the Eucharist and
Reconciliation. We need to celebrate the life to which God calls us to – a life
that will never be fully recognized if we don’t avail ourselves of His mercy.
Lent
is that time in which we come to recognize our hearts lying panting on the
floor. Yet this Sunday, which the Church calls us to rejoice for the hastening
of the great memorial of the central acts of our salvation, calls us to
celebrate the great call to life through our participation in the Word and
Sacraments.
L’chaim!
To life! As we raise the chalice of life and salvation this day, let us recall
that all of our sufferings and pains eventually do lead to the joy of the
eternal life of God - A life that we are all free to share in, only, though,
when we avail ourselves in the great love and mercy of our God through our
reconciliation with Him and with His Body, the Church.
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If the song is now stuck in your head, good. Go here and sing along.
Enjoy the journey . . .
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