Gospel (Except USA) John 3:16-21 God sent his Son into the world so that through him the world might be saved. Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,so that everyone who believes in him may not be lostbut may have eternal life.For God sent his Son into the worldnot to condemn the world,but so that through him the world might be saved.No one who believes in him will be condemned;but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.On these grounds is sentence pronounced:that though the light has come into the worldmen have shown they prefer darkness to the lightbecause their deeds were evil.And indeed, everybody who does wronghates the light and avoids it,for fear his actions should be exposed;but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light,so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.’ Gospel (USA) John 3:16-21 God sent his Son that the world might be saved through him. God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. (i)Wednesday, Second Week of Easter Most of us prefer light to darkness. When we realize shortly after Christmas that the days are starting to get longer, it gives our heart a lift. When we see in late September how much shorter the days are getting we can get a bit discouraged. Light draws us out. On the longer days, we might go for a walk late in the evening, whereas we wouldn’t think of walking so late in the winter darkness. However, we know that much crime is committed under cover of darkness. Darkness gives more protection to those who are intent on doing harm. In their case, it is darkness rather than light that attracts. Today’s gospel reading declares that ‘though light has come into the world, people have shown they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil’. Some people found the light of God’s love and goodness shining through Jesus too threatening. It was challenging to their way of thinking and behaving, and so they sought to extinguish the light. It seemed as if they had done so on Calvary, but the God of light raised Jesus from the dead and the light of God’s loving goodness now shone even more brightly through the risen Lord. The light of the Easter gospel could not be extinguished, just as the messengers of that light could not be imprisoned in today’s first reading. The light that shines through the risen Lord is not a light to be feared, even by those ‘whose deeds were evil’. It is not the harsh light of the interrogator. Rather, it is the light of love, the light of God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that all may have life and have it to the full. It is by opening ourselves to this light and allowing it to penetrate our lives that we will come to share in the risen Lord’s own peace and joy, and be the bearers of his peace and joy to others. And/Or (ii)Wednesday, Second Week of Easter We can certainly notice a stretch in the evenings these days. All of a sudden it is bright beyond 7.00 pm. Most of us like the light. We are pleased to know that the daylight is lengthening every day at this time of the year. Our heart sinks a bit when we realize that the days have begun to get shorter. Even though most of us like the light, the gospel reading declares that people have shown they prefer darkness to light. The evangelist is referring there not to daylight, but to the one who declares himself to be the light of the world. Our calling is to ‘come out into the light’, in the words of the gospel reading. This morning’s gospel reading makes the very generous statement that all who live by the truth come out into the light. All who seek the truth are already standing in the light of Christ, even though they may not be aware of it. The gospel reading suggests that people of faith, those who seek to be guided by the light of Christ, will always have something very fundamental in common with all who seek the truth with sincerity of heart. And/Or (iii) Wednesday, Second Week of Easter One of the great verses of John’s gospel is to be found at the beginning of our gospel reading this morning, ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him... may have eternal life’. That statement has been a source of inspiration for many believers over the centuries. The evangelist declares that Jesus, God’s Son, reveals God’s love for the world and for each of us individually. All authentic love is life-giving, and God’s love, revealed in the coming of Jesus, is life-giving to an exceptional degree. God gave us his Son so that we might have life and have it to the full, what this morning’s gospel reading calls ‘eternal life’. Therein lies the gospel, the good news of God’s loving and life-giving initiative towards us. The fourth evangelist is also clear that God’s initiative needs our response if it is to be effective. We need to come to God’s Son, to come out into the light, in the words of gospel reading. Having come to God’s Son, we need to remain in him, to remain in his love, and we do that by keeping his word, by living out his new commandment to love one another as he has loved us. God has given his Son to us; it falls to us to give ourselves to God’s Son. Then we will indeed have life and have it to the full. And/Or (iv) Wednesday, Second Week of Easter The words of Jesus to Nicodemus in this morning’s gospel reading are one of the strongest and most positive statements in the New Testament about God. It speaks of God’s love for the world, of God’s generous way of expressing his love by giving the world his Son and of God’s desire that all people would experience eternal life through receiving God’s Son in faith. It is a hugely positive image of God and of how God relates to the world. It is a verse worth pondering and reflecting upon at length. Yet, the gospel reading we have just heard acknowledges another reality. It recognizes that people can refuse God’s love, God’s gift of his Son, God’s offer of life. In the words of the gospel reading, ‘though the light has come into the world, people have shown that they prefer darkness to the light, because their deeds were evil’. God can only do so much. We have to open ourselves to God’s love, receive God’s Son, enter into the light and allow it to shine upon us. God wants our response, but God cannot force it. Yet, God is prepared to wait, as Jesus was prepared to wait for Nicodemus. He only gradually came to believe in Jesus as God’s Son given to the world out of love. His first tentative step was to come to Jesus by night. His last appearance in the gospel is alongside Joseph of Arimathea, as they both arrange for Jesus to have a dignified burial. And/Or (v) Wednesday, Second Week of Easter A common security measure in many homes and businesses are strong lights that come on at night when somebody comes within a certain radius and breaks the beam. It is based on the presumption that light is the enemy of anyone who might want to break into the premises. Those who might be up to no good prefer the cover of darkness. In the words of today’s gospel reading, ‘everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, for fear his actions should be exposed’. Light exposes wrong doing. In a sense, it condemns the wrong doer. According to the gospel reading, God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world. Jesus speaks of himself in this gospel as ‘the light of the world’. When the gospel reading says that ‘the light has come into the world’, the reference is clearly to Jesus. Yet, the light of Jesus is not primarily a condemnatory light whose primary purpose is to expose evil. The light of Jesus is a light of love, the light of God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son. When we step into this light, there is a sense in which our sins are exposed. To see ourselves in the light of Jesus is to recognize how far we fall short of the person God has created us to be. Yet, the primary purpose of this loving light is to take away our sin. Jesus, the light of God, seeks us draw us to himself so that we may have life and have it to the full. The Lord’s light is not in any way threatening. There is a fullness of life there from which we are all invited to receive. And/Or (vi) Wednesday, Second Week of Easter According to today’s first reading, Peter and the message he preaches cannot be confined behind bars, in spite of the best efforts of those who want to silence that message. The Easter proclamation cannot be imprisoned, just as the guards at the tomb of Easter could not prevent Jesus bursting forth into new life. The light which shone from the risen Lord and from the preaching of the Easter gospel could not be extinguished by the powers of darkness. The gospel reading acknowledges that even though the light has come into the world, some have shown that they prefer darkness to the light. They hate and avoid the light because they feel threatened by it, as if it will expose what is wrong in them. Yet, the light of Easter is not like the light of the interrogation room. It is not a light to be feared or avoided. It is the light of God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son, in the language of the gospel reading. It is not a condemnatory light; God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but so that, through him, the world may have life and have it to the full. This is a light to be warmly welcomed, not to be extinguished or imprisoned. God has embraced the world through the death and resurrection of his Son. It falls to us now to embrace God’s Son, the light of the world, the one who declared that whoever follows him will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. And/Or (vii) Wednesday, Second Week of Easter The gospel of John frequently refers to Jesus as light. On one occasion, Jesus says of himself: ‘I am the light of the world’. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says with reference to himself: ‘Light has come into the world’. In one of the most memorable statements of the New Testament the gospel reading declares that the light that has come into the world in the person of Jesus is the light of God’s love, ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him… may have eternal life’. The light of Jesus is not the probing light of the grand inquisitor that seeks out failure and transgression with a view to condemnation. Indeed, the gospel reading states that God ‘sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world’. The light of Jesus, rather, is the inviting light of God’s love, calling out to us to come and to allow ourselves to be bathed in this light, and promising those who do so that they will share in God’s own life, both here and now and also beyond death. At the beginning of our gospel reading, Jesus speaks of himself as the Son of Man who must be lifted up. It was on the cross and in his resurrection that Jesus was lifted up, and it was above all at that moment that the light of God’s love shone most brightly. Those who attempted to extinguish God’s light shining in Jesus only succeeded in making that light of love shine all the more brightly. God’s gift of his Son to us was not in any way thwarted by the rejection of his Son. God’s giving continued as Jesus was lifted up to die, and God’s giving found further expression when God lifted up his Son in glory and gave him to us as risen Lord. Here indeed is a light that darkness cannot overcome, a love that human sin cannot extinguish. This is the core of the gospel. 27th April >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on John3:16-21 for Wednesday, Second Week of Easter:‘The light has come into the world’.
Wednesday, Second Week of Easter
Reflections (7)
Fr. Martin Hogan.
See Also
22nd June >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 6:24-34 for Saturday, Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time: ‘You cannot be the slave both of God and of money’.7th May >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies (Inc. John 16:5-11) for Tuesday, Sixth Week of Easter: ‘Unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you’.24th October >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Luke 12:35-38 for Tuesday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time: ‘Have your lamps lit’.