6 April 2025

6 April 2025 - Fifth Sunday of Lent

Transcript

Reading:  

Psalm 126:1–2

Write:  

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
             we were like men dreaming.
 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
             and our tongue with rejoicing.

Reflect:   

“Like men dreaming.” This Psalm was most likely written, not by King David, but by someone who had come back from the Babylonian captivity, generations after David. It was most likely written by someone who had been taken as a slave. They were not expecting to be restored to the nation of Israel and to freedom. But that is exactly what happened.

If we could understand the impact of the forgiveness that Jesus has brought to us, we would be in the same position. When we are in our most sane conditions; and we reflect on the level of sinfulness in our own lives; and reflect on how terrible it is that we continue to fall into sins – great and small; and reflect on what it cost Jesus on the cross; and know that we are redeemed – well…

Our reading from St. Paul starts off with a promise that he held close to his heart and that we need to incorporate into our lives: “I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

This entire section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians follows on the great hymn of chapter 2 that Saint Paul concludes by saying every knee must bend at the name of Jesus. The church gives us our set of readings today as we draw Lent rapidly to a close so that our hearts will begin to turn to the great Easter mystery – of course to get to that we must go through the tragedy of the cross, next weekend with the Passion.

Apply:

Understanding the tragedy of the cross, that it is also the greatest blessing that God could give us, is the goal of the Lenten season. But, I’m afraid there is so much in our comfortable society that makes it hard for us to understand the magnitude of the work of Jesus for our salvation. Next weekend we have the reading of the Passion. This weekend in the Gospel we have a preview of that – but I’m afraid you may have missed it. I see it worked out every time I am at Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat. We use Scripture scenes to teach the retreatants the mercy of God. We use this Gospel story as one of the main readings. After going through the story, I play the part of Jesus and walk in front of every retreatant who has been learning of God’s mercy for them, even after the abortion. And I ask each one “has no one condemned you?” To which they are all encouraged to say, “no one Sir” – then I have the privilege of repeating Jesus’ own words – to each of them – “neither do I condemn you!”

It is at this time in the Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat that so many of the retreatants begin to see that they are loved and that they are worth the price that Jesus paid. I will not apologize for being emotional at this time today. This is the feeling of freedom from captivity that the Israelites felt and reflected in the Psalm: “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing.”

This is the sense that everyone – everyone – who has been freed from sin should have welling up inside them. I do not know what your worst sin is. And if you have confessed it, guess what: God doesn’t know, because he chooses to forget once he has forgiven. 

The next stanza of the Responsorial Psalm reports on the amazement that the nations had when God restored Israel: “Then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’ The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.”

I have witnessed miraculous transformations of people who thought there was no hope when they entered a Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat. But because of the faithfulness, the love, and mercy of God, I have seen people transformed – transformed! – in a matter of hours as they begin to accept the mercies of God and the work of Christ as he breaks into their lives with such simple phrases as “neither do I condemn you.”

This is the true miracle and mystery of our faith! We have spent these last few weeks of Lent, if we have used them well, to be reminded of our need for his mercy. The end of our gospel story this weekend reveals the power of Jesus on the cross – before we even get to his Passion!

As we proceed toward the end of Lent and Holy Week following, and then the great day of Easter, our hearts should begin to soar – to laugh – to rejoice without end as we call to mind the great work that Jesus did to set us free.

Last weekend, and now this weekend, we have had young people receiving their First Communion. These young people, in a special way, have been brought to God – I would even say they have been brought back to God. They have been brought back, or out of captivity, as they receive Jesus into their souls. They can now rejoice as the psalmist did: “our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing.” They are restored in a unique way. Jesus, coming to them in Communion – coming to us in Communion – brings us from tears to reaping in joy. That is the opportunity for those receiving their First Communion or their millionth Communion.

God does restore our fortunes. He does that through the gift of himself whenever we come to him – especially in Communion. Psalm one twenty-six is all about the restoration of Israel and about our restoration as we speed to Easter.

We can pray, like the psalmist: “Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the torrents in the southern desert.”

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