Homily: March 10, 2024, Fourth Sunday in Lent (Hide from Light)

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“For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.”

It is logical right?

If we did something terrible, made mistakes or broke the rules, we really do not want to be exposed. It is embarrassing, shameful and so we hide.

Either we do not want to face the consequences of punishment, or we are simply afraid that if others know about it, they will lose respect for us, look at us differently or stop loving us.

A friend shared with me that once when he went for reconciliation, he sat in the confessional behind the screen and tried to change the tone of his voice so that he would not be recognized by the confessor who was his parish priest because he felt ashamed of his sins.

At the end of the confession, after the absolution, the priest suddenly spoke to him to convey a message and called him by his name. He was recognized!

Honestly, just to share with you as a priest, I really do not think too much about the sins you confess, and I do not see any shame in anyone’s confessions. 

If anything at all, most of the time I would feel ashamed of myself because to me, many who come for reconciliation are like saints to me. And it always motivates me to go for my own reconciliation as soon as I can.

And turly, even if we can hide ourselves from the priest, we can never hide from God. Psalm 139 reads, “LORD, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. You sift through my travels and my rest; with all my ways, you are familiar.”

God knows us, He knows where we are, He knows our every move and thought, He sees our sins even before our confessing, and He waits for us to come to Him. No sin can ever be greater than God’s mercy, nor bad enough to cancel out His love for us.

This is the Good News.

And so today we celebrate Laetare Sunday, which means ‘Rejoice’. We are halfway through Lent, we are halfway on our return back to God, to be fully reconciled with Him, so we rejoice in the midst of Lent as we near Easter, a celebration of God’s promise of everlasting life in communion with Him.

In today’s Gospel, we proclaim: “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.” All He asks is that we believe.

This is the Gospel of the Gospels, the best of the Good News.

So, if you think you have grave sins or dark secrets, it may feel safe hiding in the dark for now, but you will not have peace. Come out to Jesus for reconciliation, trust me, you will feel great relief, joy and peace.

Because that’s what God wants to give you, that’s the grace you get from the sacrament. Because Jesus, our high priest, always intercedes for us with our heavenly Father.

We are children of the light. We do not belong to darkness. Whatever sins we have committed should not keep us in the dark, because they can be easily washed away with the sacrament that Jesus has gained for us. So, step into the light and be free again.

May we walk always in the light of Christ. May we keep the flame of faith alive in our heart. When the Lord comes again, may we not fear nor hide, but will go out to meet Him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.

Amen


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