Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday being the Fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, we celebrate the occasion of Laetare Sunday, which in parallel to the Gaudete Sunday during the Advent season, marked the moment when we temporarily pause the penitential nature of our Lenten observance and focus ourselves for a while on the expectation of the great joy that we are going to celebrate in a short moment from now. And if Gaudete Sunday marks the moment when we focus on the joy of Christmas and Christmas season to come, therefore today on this Laetare Sunday, we rejoice and anticipate the great joy that is to come with the fulfilment of God’s plan of salvation for all of us mankind, which He fulfilled through His Passion and what we commemorate through the Paschal Triduum and the glorious Easter season.

This word ‘Laetare’ means joy, and it came from the first part of the Introit sung or chanted today during the liturgical celebration this Laetare Sunday, namely, ‘Laetare, Jerusalem, et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam.’ which means, ‘Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and gather round, all you who love her.’, representing the joy which is anticipated for all of God’s holy people, that despite the sufferings and persecutions which they had faced, but they would all see the glorious salvation of their Lord and Master, which He has fulfilled and accomplished through the sending of His own only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made flesh and having manifested the perfect love of God, gave Himself to all of us to be our Saviour and Liberator, delivering us all from the clutches of sin.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Joshua in which the story of the time when Israel, the people of God finally reached the Promised Land after forty years long of sojourning in the desert during their journey from Egypt to the land of promise. The people of Israel had been punished and forced to endure the consequences of their rebellions and disobedience, their lack of faith and trust in God, when they constantly rebelled against God and refused to follow His path, and ultimately, when they, lacking trust and faith in God, grumbled and complained in fear of their lives when scouts sent to observe the Promised Land of Canaan told them of the mighty people who lived there. Despite the assurances from God and Moses, and the other faithful members of the people, many of the Israelites rebelled against God and therefore, God made them to wander in the desert for the whole period of forty years long, until almost the whole rebellious generation had perished.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this number ‘forty’ truly has a very important and symbolic meaning throughout the Scriptures and the history of mankind, as this number was used frequently to show a relatively long period of time, and is also commonly associated with a period of waiting, preparation and penance, a period of purification and renewal, such as what happened when Noah was in the Ark with his family, and the Great Flood came forth over a period of forty days, and also with the forty years that Israel spent wandering in the desert, which then related also to the forty days which the prophet Elijah went through in the journey from the land of Israel to the Mountain of God in seeking God, and lastly with the forty days that the Lord Jesus had spent in preparation for His ministry as He went to the desert to fast and where He was tempted thrice by the devil.

This passage is a reminder for all of us that in the end of our own ‘forty days’ of preparation during this time and season of Lent, we will enter into the glorious season of Easter, remembering the Resurrection of Our Lord and the triumph He had won against sin and all the forces of evil and darkness. The joy that the people of Israel experienced and the celebration which they went through in performing the first Passover feast in the land of Canaan is the kind of joy that we also experience and remember today on this Laetare Sunday, as we remember the joy of Our Lord’s coming and all that He had done for our sake, in delivering us all from the darkness into the light, and in bringing us all the assurance of salvation and eternal life from God Himself. This day, our focus are ever more directed towards the coming of Easter, and we should be reflecting ever more on what we truly believe in as Christians.

In our second reading, taken from the second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Corinth, we are all reminded yet again that through Christ, that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God manifested in this world as Man, and by everything that He had done, in bearing our sins and all the punishments and pain associated with all those sins, He has won for all of us the greatest triumph and victory, and showed us all that sin and death do not have the final say over us and our fates. Instead, through Him, and by our faith in Him, Christ, Our Lord and Saviour has opened for us the way to reconciliation and reunion with our most loving God and Father. And therefore, all of us should appreciate just how beloved and fortunate all of us are, to have received such a great grace from God, and we should truly be sincere in repenting from our many sins and faults.

From our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, each and every one of us are reminded through the well-known story of the prodigal son, where the younger son of a rich man’s family sought to get his inheritance earlier on and enjoy them in his life, and after having received his part of the inheritance from his loving father, he went off quickly to the distant lands to enjoy all the riches and fruits of his possessions, the inheritance that he had received without any care, and lived a hedonistic and pleasure-filled life, full of debauchery with all the people whom he encountered during his time in that distant land. This is a representation of us mankind having been tempted and deceived by sin.

That younger, prodigal son eventually realised his mistake and foolishness when he had run out of his money, wealth and inheritance, and all of his so-called friends and all those who were around him disappeared and left him when he had nothing else left on him. He tried to survive for a while in a very despondent state, working in a pig farm, and as we heard, no one would give him even the pig food to eat. That was when the prodigal younger son realised and decided to return back to his father, to beg him to make him one of his servants instead, as he could choose to remain there in the distant lands and die of hunger, or to swallow his pride and seek the father’s mercy and forgiveness instead, and remain alive, as those servants of his father were all living in plenty and happiness.

Through this parable, the Lord wanted to show us all the love that He has for each and every one of us, the constant and persistent love and compassionate care which He has given generously to us, with the father in the story representing the Lord Himself, the elder son being those who have followed the commandments of the Lord and His Law, and was also in a way a representation of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law at that time, while the prodigal younger son represents those sinners who have decided to come back to the Lord, seeking the mercy of their Heavenly Father just like the prodigal son seeking the reconciliation with his father after having committed such a grievous mistake and error of living in debauchery and squandering his inheritance. They may also represent us who have received the truth of God earlier on, as compared to others who have not yet received it.

We heard of how the father in the parable was so joyful upon hearing that his younger son has finally returned to him, that he had returned despite probably being thought of having been lost or dead. And thus, the father threw a great feast and celebration to welcome his return, only for the elder brother to be angered by such a reception. And we heard the Lord Himself explaining how what happened to the prodigal son is something that we ourselves ought to be experiencing in our own lives. This is because each and every one of us are also sinners who are seeking God’s forgiveness and mercy. And through the figure of the elder brother, the Lord was also criticising the actions of those Pharisees and teachers of the Law who often prided themselves for their righteousness and being biased, judgmental and prejudiced against their own fellow brothers and sisters.

This means that those people behaved just like the elder brother who thought that he was more worthy of the father’s love just because he seemed to be the more righteous one and the one who had been by the side of the father all the while. But the father’s love is given to both of his sons equally, and both of them were equally precious to him, just as the Lord loves each and every one of us equally, all His beloved children, though sinners. Even the greatest sinners, should they be willing to embrace God’s mercy and forgiveness, will be given the fullness of His grace and kindness. And this is why we should never lose hope in the mercy, compassion and kindness of God. If we allow ourselves to be misguided in thinking that we are unworthy of God’s love, or if we are too proud to admit that we are sinners in need of healing, then we will never receive the forgiveness of God.

That prodigal, younger son could have perished in the distant lands, all alone and in poverty if he did not swallow his pride and chose to be humble, begging and seeking his father’s forgiveness and mercy. It was his conscious choice to return to his father with a regretful and contrite heart that the prodigal son has been forgiven and received once again the fullness of the father’s generous love. Therefore, in the same manner, all of us, who are sinners, will receive the fullness of the Lord, our Heavenly Father’s most generous love and kindness, mercy and compassion if we choose to obey Him and come back to Him with sorrowful and repentant hearts. Are we then willing to make the commitment to this path, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to acknowledge our sinfulness and our imperfections, flaws and mistakes that had kept us away from God?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to journey through this blessed time and opportunity this Lenten season, let us all realise how fortunate we are to have been given such a wonderful opportunity for reconciliation with our loving God and Father, and make good use of the great opportunity given to us to seek His love and mercy once again. Let us all not harden our hearts and close our minds anymore to Him, but do our best instead to glorify Him by our lives, by our humble obedience and desire to be forgiven and to be fully loved again by God, our loving Father, Who loves each and every one of us equally without exception. And as those who have received this faith and blessing from God, we, as the elder children, should also be welcoming to our fellow brethren, especially all those who have not known God and His mercy, reaching out to them and sharing God’s love with them instead of judging them and being prejudiced against them, or being jealous of God’s love and mercy which have been shown to them too.

That is why let us all pray fervently today, on this occasion of Laetare Sunday, that God may continue to show us all His mercy and kindness, His compassion and love. Let us remind ourselves of the great joy that we are expecting and coming soon with the glorious season of Easter to come. Let us rejoice because God’s salvation has been shown to us, and He has been willing to welcome us all, His beloved though prodigal children so that by His compassion and love, all of us may be forgiven our sins and be reunited with Him. May the Lord our most loving Father continue to be with us throughout this season of Lent, and help us to remain firm and steadfast in our faith in Him, now and always. Amen.