John 3: 14 - 21
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031421-YearB.cfm
A simple but wonderful way to explain the love of God to children is to ask: “How much does God love us?” The answer is to say with arms stretched out widely: “This much!” + That gesture forms a cross and we are reminded that the cross of Christ is forever the indelible sign of God’s love for humanity.
Though it may sound a bit simplistic its truth is far
more mature and transforming. Our
readings this weekend on this particular Sunday of joy known as “Laetare”
Sunday as we are on the home stretch before the glory of Easter, are saturated
with the overwhelming truth of God’s love for us. Through the Persian king
Cyrus, God rescues an exiled people and allows for a return of the remnant of
Jews back to their land. He even offered provisions to rebuild their sacred
Temple.
St. Paul speaks to the Church in Ephesus and reminds the
early Christians that God is “rich in mercy, because of the great love he had
for us . . .” and though we were dead in our sin, God “brought us to life in
Christ Jesus.”
Then the Gospel conversation between the Pharisee
Nicodemus and Jesus that God so “loved the world” that the Savior is sent to
bestow the promise of “eternal life” on all those who believe in Christ. All of
this affirms the fact that God came to us out of love and our call is to
recognize this higher power over our lives and to respond to this gift of his
abundant grace. It is he who initiated contact with humanity, not the other way
around.
In fact, the mistake we consistently make is to think
that God’s love and our human expression of love are the same. That God falls
in and out of love and is as fickle and inconsistent as we humans can be. God
rewards good behavior and punishes us when we're bad. Not so . . .
Our first reading from Chronicles relates the story of
the destruction of Jerusalem, its sacred Temple, the source of both civic and
religious life, and the capture of the Jewish people off to Babylon where they
were enslaved for seventy years. Now,
that may not exactly sound like a Divine love story but it is an indication of
God’s desire to save his people and to purify his people in order to offer them
a new beginning.
The reading is strong in its imagery. “The princes of Judah, the priests and the
people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the
nations and polluting the Lord’s temple . . .” It certainly is not a rosy
picture of how far they had strayed away from the Lord’s original
Covenant. Yet, despite this, God
desperately sends “his messengers,” the prophets, to warn them and call them
back to the Lord. But, they mocked and killed
them!
Looking back on history, the writer of Chronicles sees
this event as a profound turning point as Babylon’s invasion and total
destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple is seen as a moment not of eternal
punishment but rather as chastisement, purification, which in the end, though
after seventy years, he inspires the King of the Persians to lead them back, to
rebuild the Temple and restore the Nation.
“Let’s give it another go,” as our British friends might say. God’s love never ceases as time and time
again he longs for salvation.
How might we humans deal with the same situation? I think the vast majority of us would have
given up long before and moved on to someone who might appreciate our
efforts. Whatever love may have been
there initially would have long gone sour through such hurt and disappointment.
The Gospel reflection from John contains the often quoted
and inspiring quote that essentially sums up the entire Gospel event: “God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
might not perish but might have eternal life.”
If anyone ever experiences judgment and critical comments
about Christianity or why we believers do not walk away considering the state
of evil in the world today, this foundational quote, John 3: 16, is the reason
why we should never abandon God or walk away.
Jesus coming among us was not an opportunity for God to inflict his
final revenge on humanity but rather the ultimate turning point in our
relationship with him. God enfleshed in Jesus his Son, and the “sign” of the
Cross, is the forever testimony to how far God’s unrestrained love has gone for
our sake.
Yes, the pain of suffering we see and hear about
throughout the world these days, the strong diatribes coming from world
leaders, and the power we have to destroy ourselves is frightening. We all
question “Why” God tolerates such things and more personal struggles in our
lives.
Yet, even in such dark conditions the Christian message
is consistent and both the Sacred Scriptures and history itself prove to us
that although God is mysterious and distant he is very much in our lives and
personally involved. As he walked among
us in Christ he brought hope and promise and made even those moments of
struggle for us meaningful in the Cross.
The best answer to “Why” is always the Cross of Christ, which was
followed not by the end but the new beginning of the Resurrection.
This Sunday we rejoice in God’s overwhelming love for
us. The Eucharist is essentially about
thanksgiving for that Divine love unleashed upon us. We are reminded that God indeed does love us
“this much!" ------------
---------------------------------
Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all
who love her.
Be joyful, all who were in mourning;
exult and be satisfied at her
consoling breast.
(Is 66: 10-11)
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