4th Sunday in Lent | Sunday 27 March 2022

Today is Sunday the 27th of March, the fourth Sunday of Lent.
The Monks of Glenstal Abbey sing Nos autem gloriari:
‘We should glory in nothing other than the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection; through him we are saved and set free. May God have mercy upon us and bless us, may he make his face shine upon us and be merciful to us.’
As I listen, can I feel God’s face shining on me, and open myself to that light, to that loving presence?

Nos autem gloriari oportet
in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi:
In quo est salus, vita et resurrectio nostra:
Per quem salvati et liberati sumus.
Deus miseratur nostri, et benedicat nobis:
illuminet vultum suum super nos,
et misereatur nostri.

Today’s reading is from St Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians.
2 Cor 5:17-21
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Paul speaks of us as a “new creation” if we are “in Christ”. What do you think this might mean? What might this look like in your life?
When Paul says, “we are ambassadors for Christ… God is making his appeal through us”, what is the picture of God that this offers? What does being an ambassador for Christ look like in your life?
“He made him to be sin who knew no sin”. This is a rather difficult idea; might it be possible for you to use this as a basis for prayer, do you think?

Now listen as the passage is read once more. What is it saying to you today?
Finally, see if you can sum up all that you have been feeling during this time, and express it in the form of a prayer to God.


You have given all to me.
To you Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace…
That is enough for me.