John 3:16-18
Dear Friends,
A learned pagan philosopher described the Christians in the second century this way: “They love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to the person that has nothing; if they see a stranger, they take him home and are happy as though he were a brother. They do not consider themselves brothers in the usual sense, but brothers instead through the Spirit, in God.”
Today’s Gospel has often been called a gospel in miniature. It describes in just a few lines the unlimited love of God. In Jesus we have the continual unveiling of this love of the Father. Jesus is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving, keeps on calling and keeps on loving!
Today’s Gospel tells us why God had saved us: Love. God has chosen to lay out the clarity and power of this love through the saving acts of his Son through the Spirit. This love has no limits, has no conditions and needs no invitation. It simply engulfs all reality.
Today’s Gospel sets it before us very clearly. God takes the initiative: “God so loved the world.” (Jn 3:16) In loving the world God shows us that all are invited into this loving encounter that is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus fleshes out this totally inclusive love in the stories of the Samaritan, the publican, Magdalene and so many other expressions of acceptance and mercy.
Likewise, today’s Gospel tells us the purpose of God’s mission: “God did not send the Son…to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him and enjoy eternal life.” (Jn 3:16-18)
Jesus invites us into the mystery of love and life that is the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. The choice is ours. We can accept or reject. The problem is we do not get to set the terms of either the acceptance or rejection.
This choice brings us into the great irony of life. We are driven to think and act as if we have a better plan than God. Our choices drive us to seek true happiness. In the process many just reject Jesus altogether. Others spend a lifetime placing side bets and trying to reconfigure Jesus into a more comfortable, watered down version. We want the price to be right according to our standards and not the Gospel. Few have the openness to live as the early Christians described by the pagan philosopher.
The great joy of today’s feast and every proclamation of the Gospel is that God never gives up on us. In Jesus, we are constantly called to accept Him as the way, the life and the truth. Slowly, life tends to teach us that Jesus really does have a better plan both for here and hereafter.
