Unconditional Love

4th Sunday of Lent
22 March 2009



Come, today, and listen to his voice: do not harden your hearts.

First reading 2 Chronicles 36:14-16,19-23
All the heads of the priesthood, and the people too, added infidelity to infidelity, copying all the shameful practices of the nations and defiling the Temple that the Lord had consecrated for himself in Jerusalem. The Lord, the God of their ancestors, tirelessly sent them messenger after messenger, since he wished to spare his people and his house. But they ridiculed the messengers of God, they despised his words, they laughed at his prophets, until at last the wrath of the Lord rose so high against his people that there was no further remedy.

They burned down the Temple of God, demolished the walls of Jerusalem, set fire to all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value in it. The survivors were deported by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon; they were to serve him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. This is how the word of the Lord was fulfilled that he spoke through Jeremiah, ‘Until this land has enjoyed its sabbath rest, until seventy years have gone by, it will keep sabbath throughout the days of its desolation.’

And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfil the word of the Lord that was spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation and to have it publicly displayed throughout his kingdom: ‘Thus speaks Cyrus king of Persia, “the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; he has ordered me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him! Let him go up.”’

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 136:1-6


Second reading Ephesians 2:4-10
God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.

This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how infinitely rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it.


Gospel John 3:14-21
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
‘The Son of Man must be lifted up
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him will be condemned;
but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,
because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.
On these grounds is sentence pronounced:
that though the light has come into the world
men have shown they prefer darkness to the light
because their deeds were evil.
And indeed, everybody who does wrong
hates the light and avoids it,
for fear his actions should be exposed;
but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light,
so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.’

Reflection
By Elizabeth R. Eguia

When I was in Grade 5, I remember we have this group project and we decided to meet at one of my classmate’s house after school. It so happened that I wasn’t able to inform my parents thinking it will not take much time and that it is just near my place. However, it took us more than an hour to finalize things before I went straight home. Along the road, I saw my Dad rushing towards me and it seems my parents were already looking for me. They got worried that something must have happened to me. It was only for a short time that I was out of their sight and they already got anxious. Then I realized how much my family love me so much.

If my parents have acted like this, how much more will our God’s reaction be? The Gospel today tells us how much he love us that he gave his only Son to save us even up to the point of dying on the cross. Quite an exquisite kind of love so to speak; a love that doesn’t create barriers even if he knows we are sinners. A kind of love that doesn’t count how many times we have fallen but rather lifts us up more every time we try to stand up.

That is why it is by his grace that we are able to realize our faults. It is not easy to be humble, to accept our mistakes, and decides to move on. But he was there always along the way. All we need to do is reach him out, repent, and move on to the light.

These now challenges us to practice unconditional love to our families, to our neighbors and to ourselves. How? We are created in God’s image and likeness. Our weaknesses should not be an excuse to do and be our best. Our families and friends also fall on the trap of the devil. Let us be there for them, not judging them but supporting them also along the way.






Dear Lord we love you. Thank you for your unconditional love for us, for sending your son Jesus to save us. We humbly admit our faults. Give us the strength, the courage to move on, to always walk on the light with you. We cannot do it alone. We need you to guide us always. Grant us also the grace to practice unrestricted love to our neighbors. We ask this through the intercession of Mary and St Joseph especially during this Lenten season. Amen.