Homily for 4th Sunday of Lent, March 21-22

Deacon Mike’s Homily 4th Sunday of Lent, cycle B

2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23
Ephesians 2: 4-10
John 3:14-21

Everyone loves a good action movie. Everyone can name some of the heroes of these movies: Harrison Ford, Pierce Bronson, Tom Cruise, and Bruce Willis, to name a few.

But what about Vic Armstrong? Who? Vic Armstrong. After all, he has appeared in more action movies then all these other guys combined. Vic is considered the most prolific stuntman in the world. Among his hundreds of film credits are Patriot Games, the Indiana Jones films, several Star Wars movies, plenty of James Bond features and Charlie’s Angels.

A stuntman is defined as one who substitutes or takes the place of. They are often referred to as a stand in. Usually, the stunts are physically challenging, risky and dangerous.

Less dramatic than stuntmen, we all are familiar with stand ins, with substitutes. Maybe a colleague or co-worker stands in for us at a business meeting. Perhaps a friend or family member takes our place at a family event. And all of us have been taught by a substitute teacher.

As people of faith, do we rejoice that Jesus stands in for us, that He took our place, that he died on the cross for our sins, so we all may have eternal life?

This is not a Hollywood movie and certainly no stunt. This is the greatest act of love, the greatest act of self-sacrifice. This is 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”.

Growing up as a teenager, John 3:16 was associated with football games. I always remembered that rainbow wig wearing fan holding up a sign at televised football games that simply said, “John 3:16”. Little did I know that this guy was spreading the Good News of the love of the Father and the Son; the love for all men; the love for you and me. Right there in the middle of touchdowns, tackles and timeouts was the essence of the Gospel. God loves me, so much so that he sent his Son to die on a cross for me. Amazing love!

In our Gospel today, Jesus is met by Nicodemus in the night. He was a wealthy Pharisee who did not want to be noticed approaching Jesus. And Jesus explains to him how He must die, lifted up on a cross. To make it easy for Nicodemus to understand, Jesus relates the story from the Book of Numbers, of Moses and the bronze serpent. Do you remember the story? The Israelites are wandering in the desert, freed from Egypt, yet they were grumbling against God. To refocus them, God sends serpents that would bite the Israelites and cause pain. The people repented and God in His mercy allowed Moses to make an image of a serpent, mounted on a pole. As Moses lifted the serpent and the people gazed upon it, their pain was relieved and they were saved.

Now, the Son of Man must be lifted up. And when we gaze upon Christ crucified our pain, not caused by serpents but by our sinfulness, is eased, we believe in Him, we turn to Him and we “might have eternal life.” Jesus stands in for us, He substitutes Himself for us. No, we are not relieved of our moral responsibilities. We must continue to work out our salvation in fear and trembling, but Jesus bore the brunt of our sins. He suffered for us. By His stripes, we are healed.

This is His great gift for us. St. Paul, in our 2nd reading, tells us it is a gift that is freely given; one we can not earn. But the gift is not truly free, for it was bought with a great cost; the suffering and death of Jesus our Lord. Why did He give us this gift? Quite simply, the Father and the Son desire eternal communion with all of us. They want all to turn from sin and be saved. And Jesus knew that He must pay the debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.

As we continue the Mass, we will come to the consecration. Simple gifts of bread and wine will be lifted up for all to see. They become for us, His body, broken for us and His blood, poured out for us. To our physical eyesight, we see bread and wine. With eyes of faith, we see Jesus lifted high, we see the light of Christ, the light that leads us to the truth.

And what is the truth? The truth is this: “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.” This week, read John 3:16 at least once a day. Pick the time and place, but do this everyday this week. And if you have not already done so, before Lent is over, commit to one Friday night spent with Christ at the Stations of the Cross.

John 3:16; not a fancy sign about football. It’s about love for us; love that bore the weight of our sins so we might have eternal life.

Vic Armstrong; prolific stuntman!

Jesus Christ lifted high on the cross. Great love, our light, the truth! No stunt.

Deacon Mike Talbot
4th Sunday of Lent, March 22, 2009