fourth Sunday in Lent-B

4th Sunday in Lent 

Once a man was taken before the judge and the judge asked him why he was mixing horse meat with chicken meat. The man said, "I did only fifty to fifty mixing and not that much". The judge warned him not to do so and dismissed the case. Then later that day, his friend asked him what do you mean fifty to fifty mixing and the judge let you go? The man said, " I told the truth". you mix horse meat with chicken meat and what do you mean fifty to fifty mixing. That man said, "fifty to fifty mixing means, One horse to one chicken". 

The Holy Season of Lent invites us to get closer to God almighty in Christ our Lord through the means of prayer, fasting and works of charity. Last weekend we met with Christ our Lord at the holy temple in Jerusalem, where He chased away people who were making the Father's house a market place, a den of robbers saying, "Destroy this temple and within three days, I will raise it up". Christ was predicting His glorious resurrection and the salvation of humanity. 

Once the daughter of Karl Marx confessed to a friend saying, "I was never brought up in any religion or had never been religious, but, she said, on the other day, I came across a beautiful little prayer that inspired so much. I wish that could be true. The friend said, "What prayer..." Then the daughter of Karl Marx began to say the prayer in German, "Our Father, Who art in heaven..." 

The whole Bible can be summarized with one word called 'Love'. The New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is being revealed in the New. The Bible is all about God's love, kindness and forgiveness. Today's gospel verse, "God so loved the world that He sent His Only Son into the world so that those who believe in Him may not perish but may have eternal life". This verse is called the gospel of the gospels. The verse talks about the very purpose of Christ coming into the world. 

As St. John Fisher was on the way to be beheaded because his faith in Christ our Lord, he opened the New Testament, praying to Christ saying, "God, please give me some comforting words...when he looked at the page, his eye fell on the words of St. John: "God, so loved the world and thus He sent His only Son and those who believe in Him might not perish but might have eternal life. 

In today's gospel, Christ our Lord says as Moses lifted the image of serpent in the wilderness when people who murmured and disobeyed God and Moses and those people ,who were bitten by snakes as punishment of God, were forgiven and were asked to look up the image of snake to have life, the Son of man must be lifted up for the salvation of humanity. Those who come to Him with their sins, pain, failures and short-comings will not be punished but be forgiven and be given life that will never end. 

We are Eater people. We are people of God. Every time we come to Church, we are given the assurance to eternal life. Christ the light of world will shine before us and we do need to be afraid of anything anymore and all we must do is listening to His words and follow Him.  

Let us create more curiosity and doubts and let us approach our Lord God during this season and like Nicodemus ask Him and He will enlighten us with His words and love; He will take us to the Father in heaven. So, let us observe this holy season and get closer to Christ the only way to the Father, the light of the world through means of prayer, fasting and works of Charity. Amen.