Once again, I am happy to welcome all of you to our Eucharistic celebration on this Fourth Sunday of Lent. Every Sunday is our weekly Easter, but today’s own is special. We call it “Laetare Sunday,” and the Church uses this beautiful pink color to explain to us why it is special. It invites us to rejoice as God brings us out of darkness into His wonderful light.
We see the picture of this invitation in all the readings of this weekend. The first reading from the first book of Samuel (16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a) relays Samuel’s mandate to anoint David as king for his people. That call came during a gloomy period after King Saul subverted God’s command to please himself rather than God. Obedience is better than sacrifice, the prophet would tell him after his misdeeds. In the second reading (Ephesians 5:8-14), St. Paul reminded us of our transitional journey of salvation from darkness into light. The gospel (John 9:1-41) was about the man born blind and its implications for our salvation.
Often, my dear brethren, we seem to be blinded by some unpleasant experiences from life that we don’t seem to see the things that are going right about us. The movement from darkness to light is a powerful lesson today because it reminds us about where we should be heading with the activities of the Lenten season. We often do not experience the full impact of darkness because we can turn around in our homes and flip a switch, and we wake with the Sun already illuminating our darkness. Ask your friends who have visited many third-world countries what the night looks like without electricity.
Today, the Church asks us to “Laetare,” meaning “to rejoice,” because God is our Shepherd and there’s nothing we shall want (Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6). Indeed, in green pastures, God leadeth us to continue to give us repose. Goodness and mercy shall continue to accompany us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in God’s presence forever. This Psalm completes our lesson today, and provides meaning to what the Church invites you and me to rejoice about on this Sunday.
