Time to Celebrate

“He said to him,
‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has been found.’”

Luke 15:31-32

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is known as “Laetare Sunday,” similar to “Gaudete Sunday” during Advent. It is a reminder and an invitation to rejoice in the midst of the penitential season of Lent. Why are we to rejoice during Lent? Shouldn’t we be solemn and steadfast in our practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving? Yes, but for what? We are solemn and penitential not just because it is “what we do.” We observe this penitential season for a reason, a reason that ultimately leads us to joy.

In our Lenten practices, and with really anything, we must have the end in mind. For Lent, it is the renewal of our baptismal promises and the Resurrection. So today we rejoice because of the defeat of sin and death, the Resurrection, and the promise of eternal life. It is indeed an occasion for celebration! The Church calls us to rejoice today because of the great love God has for us.

Perhaps one of the most well known parables in the Gospel is that of the Prodigal Son. The story about the inter- and intra-relationships between the father and the sons and within each individual. The younger son asked his father for his share of the inheritance, left his home, and squandered every penny he received from his father, effectively communicate his father being dead to him. After finding himself in such a state, he works for foreigners at such a low wage that he had to contend with the pigs for food. He finally came to his senses and decided to go back home. The father welcomes him with a loving embrace and throws a feast to celebrate his son’s return. Out in the fields the older son hears the commotion and learns of the news. He was furious. The older son refused to enter the home and celebrate. So, the Father comes out and pleads with him, saying that now was the time to celebrate because his brother who was lost has been found, who was dead has come back to life. The older son was unable to celebrate with the father because he heart has been hardened.

When we lose sight of who we are and whose we are, our hearts may become hardened. Our actions and decision may become routine, forgetting the ultimate end towards which we first embarked. When we take our eyes off of God, we celebrate the wrong things at the wrong times. We celebrate because God has loved us so much that He became man and died for us. We celebrate because this death was not the end, but only the beginning. We celebrate because sin has been conquered and death no longer has the final say. We celebrate today because we too are invited to partake in this victory. The Father is calling out to us to celebrate with Him. Will we enter the celebration or will we stand outside the door?

Never Alone

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means ‘God is with us!’”

Isaiah 7:14

As mentioned in a previous entry, feast days are usually not celebrated as such during Lent except generally for two solemnities that occur during the Lenten Season: St. Joseph and today, the Annunciation of the Lord. Although very commonly mistaken, this solemnity is not about Mary being conceived but rather the day when Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.

After refusing to ask the Lord for a sign as He had told him to, the Prophet Isaiah told King Ahaz that the Lord Himself will give him a sign: a virgin will bear a son whose name will be Emmanuel, “God is with us.” A little over 700 years later, the Angel Gabriel went to a young woman by the name of Mary who lived in a little town in Galilee called Nazareth and greeted her with “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

In the Gospel of Luke we see the fulfillment of the prophecy spoken of by Isaiah to King Ahaz. King Ahaz was told the child will be named Emmanuel meaning “God is with us” and the first words the Angel said to Mary reiterated it, “The Lord is with you.” At the Annunciation, God became man, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This dwelling is further illustrated by the “overshadowing,” recalling the cloud imagery in the Old Testament where God encountered Moses and the cloud descending upon the “Holy of Holies” in the temple where the Ark of the Covenant is, signifying the presence of God. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant for Jesus is the New Covenant. God dwelled within Mary and when it was time Jesus who is God-with-us came into the world making His dwelling among all of us. God’s presence is here.

Today we are invited to be bearers of Christ who has made His dwelling within us, knowing that we are never alone because God is with us. May we say a prayer of thanksgiving today for the great love God has for us, to the point of becoming one of us, taking on our human nature so that He might redeem us from its deathly effects. Because Jesus assumed a human nature, we now dare share in His divine nature. In Christ we are never alone. Even when all seems dark and hopeless we only need to remember the Angel’s words, “The Lord is with you.” God has made His dwelling among us, what or whom should we fear?

Choosing a Side

First published March 28, 2019.

We make many decisions on a daily basis, such as what to drink, what to eat, what clothes to wear, and how to respond to questions and situations. There are also decisions about certain moments in our lives, i.e. what to do at this moment, and then there are those decisions that we must make that dictate how we live our lives. We must choose a side.

Do we choose to be on the side of good or on the side of evil? Do we choose to stand with God or with the devil. Do we choose to turn a blind eye or do we stand up for justice? Do we choose sin or do we relish in love and communion? Do we choose life or do we choose death? We can not be in between on these matters. As Christians we know we belong to God and to His love, but do we choose to be so?

It is essential that we know what we choose because that will dictate how we will live our lives. If we choose the side of good and life, then our actions will be directed towards that. However, if we choose the side of evil and death, then our actions and decisions will lead to destruction and hopelessness. We must choose a side and hold fast to that decision, and live each day safeguarding it. Hopefully we will choose to stand with the side of good and life because only then will we find joy and fulfillment. As Scripture tells us, our God is the God of the living and not of the dead. We were created for life. Jesus came to give us life, and for us to have it to the full. We are a people of life. We are such because we are created in the image and likeness of God, who is love and life. Though death entered by the sin of man (Adam), life and eternal life was won for us by Jesus.

We are by nature made for the good and made for life. We must know that. We must believe that. There is only one life - Jesus: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me" (Jn. 14:6). Our Lord tells us in today's Gospel reading: "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters" (Lk. 11:23). If we choose life, we choose to stand with Christ. If we choose to stand with Christ, we will remain steadfast and unwavering even in the midst of trials and tumultuous waves for we will be united to Him and in Him. In remaining with Christ and being united with and in Him we will have life, joy, peace, hope, and love.

What is your decision? Will you stand united with Christ? Choose Christ, choose life. Let us ask God for the grace of courage and fortitude to remain steadfast in our resolve to stand with Christ.