March 6, 2016 — Fourth Sunday of Lent
Jos 5: 9A, 10-12; Ps 34: 2-7; 2 Cor 5: 17-21; Lk 15: 1-3, 11-32
In our Second Reading from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, Paul says, “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” There are two important points intended for us in those two sentences, especially during our Lenten journeys.
First, we are to be “ambassadors on behalf of Christ.” Then, as now, an ambassador was one who represented a ruler, at that time most likely a king, in dealing with others. Paul’s meaning is that we are called to represent our King, the Lord, here and now in our dealings with others. We do things representing our Lord and Savior, and we need to recognize both that fact and the responsibility which goes with it. It is what being a steward means — someone who is placed in charge of gifts which come to us from God and which are to be used in God’s behalf. That should be part of our Lenten efforts.
The second sentence reminds us that we need to be reconciled with God. Note that it does not say that God is to be reconciled with us. The duty lies with us and needs to be precipitated by us. At this time as Easter approaches, reconciliation-confession is important and necessary. At a recent general audience Pope Francis declared, “I can’t be baptized two or three or four time, but I can go to confession often and regularly, and when I go to confession, I renew the grace of Baptism.”
