Faith, Works, Light, Darkness, and Eternal Life
First Reading
In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people
added infidelity to infidelity,
practicing all the abominations of the nations
and polluting the LORD’s temple
which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers,
send his messengers to them,
for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God,
despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets,
until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed
that there was no remedy.
Their enemies burnt the house of God,
tore down the walls of Jerusalem,
set all its palaces afire,
and destroyed all its precious objects.
Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon,
where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons
until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.
All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah:
“Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths,
during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest
while seventy years are fulfilled.”
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia,
in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah,
the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia
to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom,
both by word of mouth and in writing:
“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house
in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!”
Responsorial Psalm
R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
For there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
Second Reading
Brothers and sisters:
God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved —,
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come
He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them
Gospel Reading
Verse Before the Gospel
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
Gospel
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
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.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
Catechesis At Home – Faith, Works, Light, Darkness, and Everlasting Life
Fourth Sunday of Lent – Year B
Have you ever been in total and complete darkness? Maybe you’ve lost power in the middle of the night, or you’ve been camping and it was overcast – no stars or moonlight to see by. The darkness that Jesus warns us against is even deeper than that. This is the darkness of the soul, sinfulness that blinds us to God’s mercy and love. This is the darkness the People of Israel were engulfed in when they were conquered and carried off into exile – infidelity upon infidelity, they piled upon themselves the sin of idolatry and turned their backs on God (2 Chronicles 36:14). He allowed them to experience the darkness for a time, then rescued them through a non-believer, King Cyrus (2 Chronicles 36:23). Their “works” did not save them, but they did condemn them (see last week’s TWFT). Then, Jesus comes and explains that it is faith in Himself that will save us from the darkness of sin and death (John 3:14). St. Paul reiterates this Truth – it is by faith, not works that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8). Yet, we are also told elsewhere to do good works (Matthew 25:31-46). There’s the Works of Mercy that we are encouraged and even commanded to do. So, which is it?
The gifts of faith and salvation are not dependent upon our works – God gives them freely, but if we are truly faithful and desire to receive the gift of salvation, we will do good works, because that is the will of God (James 2:14-26). In order to receive the salvation that Jesus offers us through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, then we are to follow Him and the path that He lights for us. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) – He is the Light in the darkness (John 1:5). We are in exile here upon this earth and Jesus offers us a way Home.
DISCUSSION
God is merciful and He desires nothing more than for us to join Him in heaven at the end of our earthly journey. How does this make you feel? Do you feel that you deserve His love and salvation? Do you feel that you can never achieve heaven? Or do you feel that you are doing okay and on the right track? Talk together about these questions. Whatever you feel, the truth is, we are not worthy in ourselves, but Jesus Christ makes us worthy. Our baptism has brought us into the life of God and it is ours to lose.
ACTIVITY
Get your family together in as complete darkness as possible. This may be a large closet or an interior hallway or bathroom even. Take along a flashlight. (Explain to anyone who may be frightened of the dark that it will be dark, but only for a short time, and Mom and Dad are right there. Hold hands or place them in your lap or next to you.)
While in the dark, ask – how does it feel? Do you feel safe or not? Do you feel disoriented? Is it uncomfortable? Some may not have negative feelings, because you are at home, and with each other. You may need to ask them to put themselves into a situation where darkness would be disorienting or uncomfortable in their imaginations. The point is that darkness can be negative. Now turn on the flashlight but hold it so it gives off very little light or only illuminates a small corner of the space.
With the little bit of light, how does that make you feel? After everyone answers, turn on the lights. Let everyone’s eyes adjust to the light. How does that feel? What makes the light better than the dark?
How does Jesus shine His light on us so that we can see better and more clearly? What parts of our lives do we need to let His light shine on? What do we want to keep tucked away in the dark?
One of the things that Jesus calls us to is authentic faith (Matthew 15:7-9). That authenticity will be lived out in what we do and say – our works. If we allow ourselves to be open and fully take advantage of the grace He offers through faith and salvation, our lives will shine with His light, our works will be visible reminders to ourselves and others that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, and God’s love is alive and active. Lent is a special time to reflect on our sinfulness, repent of it, and ask for forgiveness. It is also a time to draw closer to Jesus and allow Him to heal us and lead us into the Light of salvation and eternal life. Make a step toward Him this week, and into the Light.
CLOSING PRAYERS
Act of Faith
O my God, I firmly believe that You are one God in Three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I believe in Jesus Christ, Your Son, who became a Man and died for our sins, and who will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because You who know all have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Amen.
Act of Hope
O my God, trusting in Your goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon for my sins, the help of your grace, and life everlasting, through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
Act of Love
O my God, I love You above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because You are all-good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for love of you. I forgive all who have injured me, and I ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen.
Song for the Week – Christ be our Light
Was this helpful? How did everybody handle the darkness?
Other Help on HOO
Caring For Our Earthly Home – Episode 95
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:35 — 22.7MB)
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One of the seven social teachings of the Catholic Church, caring for our earthly home is intimately connected to every part of our life.
After quoting an 80s video game and Monty Python, Beth and Kristofer dive into this topic with Kristofer making sure everyone knows he is not a tree hugger.
Then they go on identifying birds and trees as they walk by. Well, the topic is what the topic is – and they do answer the question we all have about that environment issue.
Yeah, that one.
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