We rejoice this Sunday because we're more than halfway through Lent, and we marvel at how God is at work in us.
God, as Just and Righteous, holds us accountable for sin, as is recorded of the nation of Israel in the first reading. Yet, ultimately, the reading describes how God's punishment comes to an end and He bestows His mercy on His people, restoring them to their land.
Centuries later, Christ came to save and restore us, His people, from the deep-down effects of sin and restore us to new life. He is the great gift of the Father, raised up on the Cross to be our salvation. Christ reveals the love of the Father Who desires not our condemnation, but our salvation and restoration.
In a similar vein, St. Paul writes in the passage for the 2nd reading in the Epistle to the Ephesians that when we were dead in our sins, God saved us by His grace and brought us to new Life, so we could participate in His works of advancing the Kingdom of God. Indeed, we are God's masterpiece, and God has made us whole again when we were broken, so that we could live fully in His great Light and shine it in the world. Indeed, God has not only brought us out of sin, He has brought us into new Life so that we live with profound purpose. We no longer shun the Light,
So while we have sorrow over our sins, we also praise the mercy and grace of God.
That is great news, truly reason to rejoice!
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