4th Sunday of Lent

For grown-ups

Today is Laetare Sunday, the Sunday of rejoicing, and the readings bring a little light into the middle of Lent. God’s people have been in exile, yet he brings them home. Paul says we are saved by grace, as a gift and not something we earn. And in the Gospel Jesus speaks the words many of us learned first: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son.” The cross is lifted up, and it is a sign of love.

Children understand gifts better than most of us. They know that love is not something you win by being good. It is simply given, on the good days and on the very bad ones. That is how God loves us, and how we hope to love them. This week, try to let your children catch you showing love that is not earned: a kind word after a mistake, or a hug right after a meltdown. That is the Gospel at the kitchen table.

Dinner-table questions

1. Who loves you very, very much?
2. What is a gift you were given just because someone loved you?
3. How can we show God’s love to someone who is sad this week?