Word to the Wise
Sunday, March 10, 2024 - 4th Sunday of Lent - B
[2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; John 3:14-21,131]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. [John]
SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2024 4TH SUNDAY OF LENT
[2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21. These are the scriptures for Cycle B. Parishes with OCIA programs may use Cycle A.]
There is a popular expression one may hear when someone is complaining about minor problems or even overwhelmed by circumstances. The response is: "Get a life!" Or "I have to get a life!" What does it really mean to be "alive?" Great debates occur over when "life" begins or ends. Recent controversy over in vitro fertilization is an indicator of this. But we know that "life" is more than the minimal biological functioning of the human body or the life of animals, insects and plants. "Life" can mean a relationship of the kind that today's gospel scripture points to: "eternal life!"
When the Chosen People complained against Moses and God in the desert, they were punished by God with poisonous snakes. When they begged for relief, God told Moses to make an image of the snake and put it on a pole and when anyone looked at it they would be relieved of snakebite! [Num. 21:4-6]. Nicodemus, as a Jewish leader, would have known the story well. The evangelist John quotes Jesus referring to the life giving force of the image of the bronze serpent "lifted up" by Moses in the desert. Jesus' speaks of being "lifted up" just as Moses lifted up the serpent. Jesus' own earthly death would be the guarantee of eternal life for all who believe in him.
The broader context is the "life" given to us in baptism. This is the beginning of Christian life even if we are already "alive" as human persons. In baptism, we "get a life" that comes to us as a matter of faith in Jesus. The season of Lent directs us toward the life that Jesus offers through his death and resurrection. In baptism and confirmation we receive the life-giving Spirit that he promised to those who believe in him [John 14:26]. All of this comes together in Holy Week when we celebrate not only Jesus' death and resurrection, but our own! AMEN