Homily 4th Sunday in Lent 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7xWjJuAf6s&feature=fvst

A young man was favored to win the 400 meter race at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.  His name: Derek Redmond.  Disappointment came about 250 meters from the finish line.  Suddenly, his hamstring tore, he hobbled to a halt and fell to the ground in pain.  Intense pain!  Medical personnel rushed to his aid as Derek made a difficult decision.  In spite of the intense pain and his gold medal dream crushed, he stood and began to hobble toward the finish line.  Suddenly, a man pushed through the crowd and security to get to Derek; it was his father!  You don’t have to do this son, the father said; yes I do, replied the weeping son.  Well then, replied the father, we will finish this, together!  Then wrapping his massive arms around his wounded son, they hobbled together to the finish line.  No gold medal, no world record, but Derek Redmond finished that race, powered by the unconditional love of his father.

We all have races to run in our lives, whatever they may be; family, school, work.  Some of us may run the race to win, most of us run to finish.  Sometimes, we can only finish, powered by unconditional love.

As people of faith, we experience God the Father’s unconditional love in the gift of Jesus, His only begotten Son.

Today’s Gospel reading comes on Latarae Sunday, when we wear the rose vestments and we hear the word rejoice.  We are halfway through Lent as we move ever closer to that Easter joy.  On this Sunday we hear the Gospel that includes, perhaps, the most often quoted Scriptural passage, John 3:16: “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.” Why did God do this for us?  Why did Jesus endure this pain for us?  Not to condemn the world but to save the world through Jesus. Unconditional love!

Jesus is approached, in darkness by Nicodemus.  He is a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin.  He is surrounded every day by those who distrust Jesus, who are plotting against Jesus.  But Nicodemus sees something in Jesus; he sees the light and the truth in Jesus.  And Jesus tells him that the Son of Man must be lifted up just like Moses lifted a bronze serpent in the desert.  What does this mean?  Jesus would know that Nicodemus would be all too familiar with the scripture verse from the Book of Numbers where the Israelites were saved from painful serpent bites every time Moses lifted the bronze serpent high and the people would gaze upon it.  Jesus tells Nicodemus, he too must be lifted high, on a cross, to die for our sins and be God’s unconditional love for us; a love that comes with his painful passion and agonizing death!  When Moses lifted that bronze serpent, physical pain was relieved.  When Jesus was lifted up, in that greatest act of unconditional love, the pain and division of sin was relieved so that we may inherit eternal life with the Father.

And this gift of love is unmerited; it is free.  We cannot earn it.  It is given freely, unconditionally.  St. Paul refers to this in today’s 2^nd reading: “for by grace you have been saved through faith; the gift of God.”  But for our part, we must accept this great gift.  We must turn away from sin and turn to the Father through Jesus the Son.  In thanksgiving we recall that Jesus paid a debt he did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not possibly pay!

It is as if in our great race called life, we are hobbling toward the finish line, unable to cross it on our own.  And the Father, through the Son, comes to our aid and whispers to us; well then, we will finish this together!  Unconditional love!

What does this powerful Gospel message mean for us as we leave here today and begin this fourth week of Lent?  What can we do, as we run our race this week, to advance closer to the finish line?  As a daily reminder for the week ahead, can we incorporate John 3:16 into our daily prayer life? Whether at morning prayer, or grace before meals, whenever we pray add these powerful words that speak unconditional love to all of us: “for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.”  At this halfway point in Lent, have we made a good confession yet?  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important milepost on our spiritual race!  And just as God loves us unconditionally, can we examine, this week, how we love.  Do we love unconditionally or do we, as a wise Saints coach reminded me last week, keep score?  Do we give love without expecting anything in return?  Does my love for others affirm the ones we love?  And most difficult, do we love those who just, for whatever reason, don’t love us back?

In a few moments the Son of God will again be lifted up.  Those simple gifts of bread and wine, once consecrated, are lifted up for all of us to see.  With our eyes, we see the Son of God, body, blood, soul and divinity, and we can say: my Lord and my God!  Unconditional love!

Derek Redmond finished his race; he finished it together with the unconditional love and the strong arms of his father.  We are running our race too; may we all run that race with our Heavenly Father’s loving arms and unconditional love that lifts us up!  Together!