Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Lent

This Sunday’s liturgy begins, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.  Be joyful, all who were in mourning.”  And this is the source of all our joy, as today’s Gospel says: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.”

Joy is looking at life from the perspective of eternity.  It is not a denial of reality; instead, it is a journey deeper into reality. Joy is not the same as optimism. Optimism is when you see all the possibilities of how a situation could play out, and you expect one of the better outcomes. Also, joy is not the same as being naïve. People who are truly joyful can have a full grasp of their life’s circumstances, but they are able to see past them to eternity. This is not the same as saying, “Well, this situation I’m in right now doesn’t really matter; all that matters is heaven.” Rather, we must reflect on how this situation matters in the light of Christ’s victory if we want to have the joy of the saints. There are impediments to joy in our earthly vale of tears, and one of them is despair in the face of sin.

We may find ourselves this Lent, as last week’s Collect said, “bowed down by our consciences,” but we remain in hope that we will be “lifted up” by God’s mercy. Though we may blush with shame because of our sins, we can find joy by looking at them from the perspective of eternity. In heaven, we will truly see all of our sins as God sees them. This may be a cause for fear as we imagine the God of all goodness and perfection examining the filth in our souls. But reflecting on our sins as God sees them can instigate profound healing as we recall that the Divine Physician will gaze compassionately upon the wounds out of which those sins were committed. We pray with the Second Reading that He might show us “the immeasurable riches of his grace.”  In glory, shame for our sins will not keep us from God or from other people. We will be perfectly loved, which dispels shame. For all eternity, we will be praising God for the unique way in which He has saved us personally. We will be singing the song of His grace in us, the marvels He has worked in us, and the deep wounds from which He has elevated us.  Here on earth we must remain firm in this hope that God means to save us, restore us, and use the evils of sin in our lives to magnify His glory.  For this we will extoll Him for all eternity.

With these things in mind, let us “with prompt devotion and eager faith…hasten toward the solemn celebrations to come” as the Collect says.  May our Easter joy reflect the joy that we possess in Eternity.