Fourth Sunday of Lent Year B

Brothers and sisters! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Johan 3:16).

God did not want death for the world, the death that Adam chose in paradise; but he sent us a new Adam, Jesus, to destroy death and give us life. However, John further states that the darkness did not accept him. Jesus is the true light in which any hint of darkness disappears. Faith in him places man in the light of his conscience to live as a child of God. Jesus is God’s gift to men. God descended to earth so that we could ascend to him.
Sin created a chasm between us, but Jesus, by His sacrifice on the cross, bridged that chasm by victory over death. He who believes has eternal life, but those who reject Jesus because they “love darkness more than light” pronounce judgment on themselves. In Jesus, God himself addresses His love for people and awaits an answer. No one is freed from deciding for God or against. Our answer is the faith by which we love God, and He loves us. He gave himself and his love is a challenge to follow according to Jesus’ life. Today’s Sunday is called Sunday laetare, that is, Sunday of joy. But why should we rejoice now, in the fast? Many of you may be asking: Can a Christian rejoice in fasting? The Church is giving us this Sunday to immerse ourselves more deeply in the mystery of God’s love and mercy, for everyone who “believes in him” will gain eternal life. And we have the right to ask God for this faith. The Gospel of John is permeated with love. The cross that man gave to Jesus turned his love into the center of infinite love that reaches every man of all times. He who sees the cross with faith cannot see only the wood and the dead Jesus in it. The first Christians depicted the cross as a flowering tree that bore fruit. The fruit of life. What Adam has done wrong has been corrected by God with love and mercy. But one sees this only when one looks at Jesus’ sacrifice with faith. And in this faith we can say today: “Rejoice, Jerusalem, gather all your loved ones; dance and draw from the rich sources of comfort. “

Faith. Brothers and sisters, how many times have we heard the word faith, and perhaps it has become commonplace for us. Therefore, John emphasizes: “He who believes in him …” to remind us of the main condition for gaining eternal life. Faith. The firm, determined, able to sacrifice oneself for Jesus. In everyday life, we encounter a situation where our faith is tested. It is a mistake to say that today’s world is an unbeliever. It can be said that faith is flourishing today. Everyone believes in something. But faith is not like faith. We keep trying. Many opinions, seemingly the best solutions, enter our lives. Today’s supermarket of religions is crowded. How can we choose the right path? The most attractive for us is the most pleasant, the one that does not ask for acts of self-denial. But life teaches us otherwise. How many have already taken such paths, and yet later admitted that they have strayed? But God loves man and leaves no one in the dark. It gives grace to faith, but why doesn’t everyone respond by faith? Why doesn’t this one believe him, even though we tell him about God and his love for him? It’s hard to answer. But we can approach it with our experience.
Imagine the crucial moment when we said to God: I believe! It is a moment that has changed our lives. It gave us the goal of life, the joy of suffering. That’s when it was decided if I wanted eternal life. Jesus on the cross convinced us that there is eternal life in him. And we are to be happy about that. To be a Christian is to rejoice because our goal is Love, and the way to it is love for every human being. We are not alone because with us is God, who loved the world so much. The Word makes us think about how I love God? What do I do to make my faith in him always greater? Cardinal Ratzinger says that “our faith must be growing.” We cannot stay in one place all the time. Just as we do not wear the same clothes that we received as children, we must constantly renew our faith. Staying in one place can, and often does, lead to a loss of faith in God. First comes indifference, then doubt, and finally unbelief. Let’s avoid this. The devil is looking for many ways to dull our faith. Let us not be discouraged by difficulties. My zeal and love for God and neighbor grow in us. This will protect us from indifference, the disease of today.

Brother sister! Faith is a very valuable gift. Many of us received it from our parents, others had to go through the difficult path of searching, but no one can say with certainty that: I cannot lose it.

Paul Claudel, a famous French poet and convert, wrote: “Young people who leave faith so easily have no idea how much it will cost them to regain it.” There is a way to lose faith, but there is also a way back. God is love and will not allow anyone to get lost. He’s still here waiting. It knocks, but we have to open it.
Raymond Franz has been at the headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses for 40 years, describing the errors of his life in The Crisis of Conscience. Before, he was fully convinced that this was the true faith, but later he saw the contradictory

events that took place on people in this group. He survived the crisis of conscience because he believed others and saw others. I either believe that God and eternity exist, or I believe that there is no God and death ends with everything. I either believe that there is eternal bliss or I believe that my desire for eternity is in vain. I have to choose! What will you choose? Sun or dark night? I’ve already made my choice. I believe because the senses are not enough for me. I believe because I cannot accept the idea that everything has only a beginning without an end and without the meaning that my whole life is a journey without a goal.
A priest was telling a story from his parish. The young couple got married. But he found another girl, left her, and left her with the baby. After a few years, widowed, he lost his home, his job. He became homeless. He finally came to the first woman in a deplorable state, full of fear and guilt. To everyone’s surprise, she accepted him. When asked how she did it, she replied, “If I didn’t have faith, love for God, I certainly wouldn’t even notice you.”

Faith. A treasure that is so fragile, but on the other hand unshakable strength and support in narrowing. Its fruit is eternal life. But he still needs the water of life, which is the Eucharist and the word of God. To be effective, he wants our whole, I BELIEVE!

He who believes in him has eternal life. In a little, while we all confess together, I believe in God. Let’s think more deeply about the words to remind us and enliven in us personally, I believe. May the love by which God loves the world inflame joy in our hearts. For we know whom we have believed, and we expect eternal life.