Toward the New Jerusalem – New Life: God’s Continual Restoration Works and Their Signs – Monday of the 4th Week of Lent (Cycle A)

As our Lenten journey is nearing its end and the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord is coming in sight, the Scripture readings bring this anticipatory joy, juxtaposing God's continual works of renewal and the Resurrection, with eschatological hope,  as we are now on the 4th week of Lent.

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The Scripture readings for Monday of the 4^th Week of Lent on Cycle A (Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-45) are about God’s love to bring fresh renewals to His creations, including us, leading all the way until the end of time. The first reading (Isaiah 65:17-21) reflects God’s post-exilic promise of His new creation, and this promise is spelled all the way into the last chapter of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah 66. In fact, the Antiphon for the 4^th Sunday of Lent (also known as Laetare Sunday) is drawn from Isaiah 66:10-11 to call to anticipate God’s renewal of Jerusalem, inviting to rejoice over this new creation of Jerusalem.

In the First Reading today, we read:

There shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people (Isaiah 65:18-19).

The above passage is echoed in the Antiphon for Mass yesterday, the 4^th Sunday of Lent:

Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exalt and be satisfied at her consoling breast (Isaiah 66:10-11).

Thus, the 4^th Sunday of Lent (Domingo IV de Quaresma) is know as Laetare Sunday (Domingo Laetare).

God’s new creation of Jerusalem, renewal of Jerusalem, in the first reading (Isaiah 65:17-21) and the rest of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah 65:22-Isaih 66:23, is not only about the post-exilic hopeful restoration of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 40-48) but ultimately about the eschatological establishment of the New Jerusalem upon the deconstruction of the world, envisioned in Revelation 21.

Reading about God’s renewal of Jerusalem, His creation of new Jerusalem, upon cleansing factors that may corrupt Jerusalem, on the first two days of the 4^th week of Lent is to remind that our Lenten journey of spiritual renewal is nearing its end to rejoice the Resurrection of the Lord, which is a powerful symbol of God’s new creation, upon witnessing how the Lord died with what can corrupt Jerusalem. Here, Jerusalem is not necessarily the geographical Jerusalem but us collectively as the Church. Thus, Christ the Lord during the Paschal Triduum, between the Lenten season and the Paschal season, is the climax of the renewal process of us, Jerusalem, the Church, through the body of Christ the Lord. And this renewal process goes through Christ’s death to bring a new better life with the Resurrection.  In this sense, the Resurrection of Christ symbolizes the realization of the New Jerusalem, prophetically reflected in Isaiah 65-66, with the eschatological implication in Revelation 21.

What corresponds to today’s first reading on the joy of God’s renewal of Jerusalem (Isaiah 65:17-21) is the joy in Jesus’ restoration of a dying life of a royal official’s son in the Gospel reading (John 4:43-54). It is also known as the second sign in the seven signs of Jesus in John’s Gospel.  This second sign that Jesus made in Cana, Galilee, took place when Jesus returned from Jerusalem.

After making his first sign in Cana, turning water into the choicest wine at a wedding reception (John 2:1-12), Jesus want up to Jerusalem for Passover (John 2:13).  However, what he found in Jerusalem was the Temple corruption, and he had to cleanse the house of God for Passover (John 2:14-25). In fact, Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple in John 2:14-25 is an early sign for God’s promise for renewal of Jerusalem and construction of the New Jerusalem addressed in Isaiah 65-66, further into Revelation 21, in addition to what will come upon Lent and Paschal Triduum, the Resurrection of the Lord, given Jesus’ promise of rebuilding the New Temple in John 2:19.

While Jesus was in Jerusalem, he met Nicodemus and enlightened this Gentile man (John 3:1-21). In fact, a part of this narrative is read for the 4^th Sunday of Lent on Cycle B (John 3:14-21). Then, Jesus stepped outside of Jerusalem and went to where John the Baptist was still baptizing (John 3:22-36). Then, Jesus had to return to Galilee from Judea as the Pharisees thought Jesus was baptizing more people than John the Baptist, though Jesus never baptized anyone (John 4:1-3). On his way back to Galilee, Jesus chose to go through Samaria, though it was a taboo, and there, he met a woman by the Jacob’s well, reaching out to her deeply wounded soul and renewed her life (John 4:4-42), as read for the 3^rd Sunday of Lent on Cycle A.

 The today’s Gospel reading (John 4:43-54) reminds that Jesus continued to renew a life of someone in need by bringing healing,  not only on his way back to Galilee from Jerusalem but also upon arriving in Galilee. So, he healed the endangered life of a son of a royal official in Cana, Galilee, restoring his life. Jesus’ continuing work of restoring diseased and endangered lives by healing is also a reflection of God’s promise for restoring Jerusalem plagued with defilements into the New Jerusalem, prophesized in Isaiah 65-66 and its consummation eschatologically envisioned in Revelation 21. And, the Resurrection of Christ, upon the completion of our Lenten journey, following the Paschal Triduum, makes a powerfully assuring sign of this promise of God, for which we rejoice.

Just as the arrival of spring will bring a new life in nature, God brings a new life and renew lives through Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17), and this renewal process that God makes with His love is beautiful and leads to eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11).