A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 7, n. 17)
4th Sunday of Lent, Year B – March 22, 2009
“God’s Mercy in Christ Jesus”
BIBLE READINGS
II Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 // Eph 2:4-10 // Jn 3:14-21
(N.B. Series 7 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year B from the perspective of the Second Reading. For other reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year B, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 1 & 4.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
We continue our spiritual journey toward the Easter glory. Through the bread of the Word broken and shared at the liturgical assembly, the faithful delve more deeply into the meaning of Christ’s paschal sacrifice that leads to the world’s salvation.
The bible readings of this Sunday underline the intensity and immensity of God’s saving love. The Old Testament reading (II Chr 36:14-16, 19-23) reminds us of God’s utter compassion for his people even when they were blatantly unfaithful. Surprisingly, God used a pagan king, Cyrus of Persia, to be an instrument of liberation for his dispersed people. Exiled in Babylon, the Jewish people wept by the rivers there and suffered the destructive effects of their idolatry. The liberation wrought by King Cyrus on behalf of the Jewish people was a figure of the definitive compassionate act to be accomplished by God in Jesus Christ for all peoples of the earth.
This Sunday’s Gospel reading (Jn 3:14-21) contains a most consoling and beautiful message: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life”. The infinite mercy of God was radically shown to us in Christ Jesus. We experienced through the sacrificial Servant-Son of God the abundant riches of the divine love and the promise of eternal life. Indeed, the liberation of all peoples from sin and death through Christ’s passion and death on the cross is the ultimate demonstration of divine love.
The Second Reading (Eph 2:4-10) delineates not only the abundant riches of God’s mercy and grace, but also our dutiful response to his forgiving love. Once we fully realize how much God loves us, we respond wholeheartedly and spontaneously in loving deeds. Deeply conscious that we are recipients of the undeserved gift of God’s love, we are filled with thanksgiving and contribute to the wellbeing of the Church, humanity, the entire creation and the whole world.
The inspiring message of the passage from the letter to the Ephesians can be better understood and appreciated if we read the following translation of the GOOD NEWS BIBLE: “But God’s mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God’s grace that you have been saved. In our union with Christ Jesus he raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world. He did this to demonstrate for all time to come the extraordinary greatness of his grace in the love he showed us in Christ Jesus. For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it. God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus, he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do.” (Eph 2:4-10)
The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent remarks: “On this fourth Sunday, then, we contemplate the superabundant grace the Father has bestowed on us. We are saved by grace. This grace is inexhaustibly rich and makes our actions good in God’s sight. Such is the wealth of teaching given on this fourth Sunday of Lent. As we contemplate it, we must grasp the marvelous coherence of God’s plan of salvation. But more than that, we must ask ourselves how we are to live out the mystery in our everyday lives.”
Bob McGreevy endeavors to respond to the mystery of undeserved grace in his everyday life. His story illustrates how his openness to God’s grace and his experience of the divine goodness led to Bob’s beautiful act of charity on behalf of a poor and vulnerable gentleman (cf. Bob McGreevy, “Treated to a Blessing” in Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart, ed. Jeff Cavins, et. al., West Chester: Ascension Press, 2004, p. 257-258).
Walking out into a crisp September afternoon, my mood soared. My co-workers and I had just completed the first milestone of a very important and complicated project. As an energy and environmental comfort specialist, I had sold a product for renovating the heating, cooling, lighting, and indoor air quality for a 220,000 square foot, ten-story building in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
“This deserves celebration”, I thought to myself as I walked into the convenience store next-door. As I looked at the shelves for something to treat myself to, a thought came to me: “Someone needs this more than I do.” It was not as if I was down to my last dollar and had to choose between buying myself something or giving to charity, but the thought seemed to be a direction – a prompting. Recently, I seem to be getting more direction from God in my life since I changed my morning prayer routine. My new routine involves sitting quietly and trying to be fully present to the Lord, to be open to what He wants me to do. I am no mystic. I do not hear audible voices, but I sense that this morning spiritual exercise has helped me to be more in tune with God’s plan for me each day. On this particular day, it would have been easy for me to brush the thought away and go ahead and buy myself a candy bar or cupcake. After all, the idea that interrupted my confectionary plans seemed totally subjective. I could choose to listen to this soft prodding or brush it aside. I turned on my heels and left the store.
Back outside, there were street maintenance vehicles and personnel working nearby. I watched what they were doing for a few minutes. A man alongside me explained that a transformer had blown the day before. The crew was working on the repair. As we were watching the scene, another man walked up to me and asked, “Can you spare fifty cents?” The middle-aged man looked homeless. He carried his belongings in a bag. He had probably slept outside on some park bench or in some doorway entrance. Despite his appearance, you could see that he was probably new to living on the streets. He was certainly down on his luck, but perhaps it was only a temporary situation. He had a pleading look in his eyes as he quietly said, “Even a dime would help.”
I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and gave it to him. The man looked at the bill and then back up at me, obviously surprised. Looking me square in the eyes, he said, “Thank you! You do not know how important this is to me.” He then turned and walked away with a livelier step than when he approached. I watched him pump his fist and mouth, “Yes!” That look in his eyes and that gesture of excitement gave me much more satisfaction that any treat could ever have offered.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
How was the mercy of the Lord revealed in the exile and liberation of his people in Babylon? How did the pagan King Cyrus unwittingly promote God’s saving plan?
How does the compassionate act of God in sending his only Son to save the world affect you? How do you respond to God’s tremendous manifestation of benevolence?
How do we manifest to the world that God is indeed rich in mercy? How do we share the rich treasures of divine grace with the people around us? Do we realize that as God’s handiwork, we are created in Christ Jesus for good works and that we are instruments of the divine saving grace?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father,
we thank you for your benevolence throughout sacred history.
In the ancient days,
you chose the pagan King Cyrus
to be an instrument of your saving plan
on behalf of your chosen people.
In the fullness of time,
your infinite mercy was fully revealed
when you sent your Son Jesus Christ
to save all peoples of the earth
and to integrate the entire creation.
Oh, compassionate God!
You so loved the world that you gave your only Son,
not to condemn the world,
but that we may have eternal life.
Thank you for the abundant riches of your love.
By your grace we have been saved and healed.
Help us to be intimately united with Jesus
and walk with him on the path to new life
Totally configured to Christ,
may we embrace a life of good deeds
and show preferential concern for the poor and vulnerable.
May we reach our eternal destiny with you,
and with Jesus your Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ.” (Eph 2:4-5a)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that we may grow deeply in awareness that God’s mercy is manifold and abundant. In this Lenten season, assume more intensely the Catholic commitment to solidarity especially with the poor and vulnerable
ACTION PLAN: To help us appreciate with greater thanksgiving God’s mercy in Christ Jesus, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year B, vol. 5, # 17).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US