4th Sunday of Lent (“B”)
March 18, 2012

Q. 676: Why did Jesus not avoid death, which he had the power to do?

A. 676:
It all boils down to love. One can almost be overwhelmed by the compassion and love shown repeatedly by God to his children over the centuries. Both the First Reading (2 Chron. 36:14-16, 19-23) and the Gospel (John 3:14-21) bring out this compassion. We need to read the Gospel story very carefully.

God never forces his love upon us, never! He wants us to come to him by our own choice, and accept the love and protection that he offers. Repeatedly in the old covenant era he sent prophets and wise men to call people to remember that he saved them from slavery in Egypt, and that the same love and salvation was theirs if they only remained faithful to him. In the new covenant era, the Father sent his Son to show us how much he loved us, so much that he freely died for our salvation. The Father also called us to listen to his Son, believe in him, and receive eternal life.

We tend to think of the “serpent” as a nasty critter, and that is usually correct. But in the context of salvation, the serpent is a symbol of healing. Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole, and whoever looked upon it with faith in Yahweh God would be saved, healed. Just so, Jesus was lifted up on a pole, and whoever looks upon him with faith will be saved, healed for all eternity.

We always have a free-will choice in the environment in which we want to live and behave: the kingdom of darkness, or the kingdom of light. The way of the evil one is darkness; the way of Jesus is the way to the light, to the truth. Accept the love of Jesus today! Choose the way Jesus wants to lead us!

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Already in the Old Testament, God ordained or permitted the making of images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate Word: so it was with the bronze serpent, the ark of the covenant, and the cherubim (CCC #2130).

Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha

(Return to INDEX page of "Didja Know?" series)

(Go back to Deacon Paul's HOME PAGE)

Comments?