God So Loves

But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said, “Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life.” Acts 5:19-20

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. John 3:16

Piety

Lord Jesus, in this day of darkness when death shadows our community, our state, our nation and our world, let us remember Your sacrifice to save us.

God so loved Austin Cloyd, Champagne, Il., International Studies and French

Go so loved Brian Bluhm, Cedar Rapids, IA, Graduate Student, Civil Engineering

God so loved Caitlin Hammaren, Sophomore, International Studies and French

God so loved Cho Seung-Hui, Centreville, VA, English

God so loved Dan O'Neil, Lafeyette, Rhode Island, Graduate Student, Civil Engineering

God so loved Daniel Perez Cueva

God so loved Emily Hilscher, Woodville, Va., Equine Science

God so loved Erin Peterson

God so loved G.V. Loganathan, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

God so loved Henry Lee, Roanoke, Va., Computer Engineering

God so loved Jamie Bishop, Instructor, Foreign Languages and Literatures (German)

God so loved Jarrett Lane, Narrows, Va., Civil Engineering

God so loved Jeremy Herbstritt

God so loved Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, French professor

God so loved Juan Ortiz, Graduate Student, Civil Engineering

God so loved Julia Pryde

God so loved Kevin Granata, Professor, Engineering Science & Mechanics

God so loved Lauren McCain, Hampton, Va., International Studies

God so loved Leslie Sherman, History and International Studies

God so loved Liviu Librescu, Professor, Engineering Science & Mechanics

God so loved Mary Karen Read

God so loved Matt La Porte, Dumont, New Jersey, University Studies

God so loved Matthew Gwaltny, Chester, Va., Environmental Engineering

God so loved Maxine Turner, Vienna, Va., Chemical Engineering

God so loved Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.

God so loved Nicole White, Carrollton, Va., International Studies and German

God so loved Rachael Hill

God so loved Reema Samaha, Centreville, Va.,

God so loved Ross Abdallah Alameddine

God so loved Ryan Clark, Columbia County, Ga., Biology, English, Psychology

God so loved Waleed Shaalan

God so loved you and all these people and the whole world that he gave up his only begotten son to human life through the incarnation and to execution on the cross so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/041807.shtml

Are you willing to risk being jailed for your faith?

In today’s first reading from Acts 5, we witness the jealousy of the religious authorities over the popularity of the apostles. As a result, the apostles are jailed and refuse to stop preaching. “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29). Fortunately, they miraculously escape with the aid of the angel of the Lord and resume preaching. Rather than go back into hiding, they are now confident and bold enough not to cower away from their duties to “tell the people everything about this life.”

The dichotomy between God’s love and the sins of the world comes in sharper focus in the famous passage from John 3:16. 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. Jesus, the light, came into the world, to save it, not to condemn it. However, people preferred darkness to light, and turned against him. The world continued to turn against his apostles who were “sent” to preach the Gospel to the world.

The conversation about the “light” occurs during the evening discussion with Nicodemus, who crept in to see Jesus when he would not be noticed by the other Pharisees. Nicodemus wants to believe but has a hard time accepting Jesus’ teaching when he first hears it.

But God does not condemn Nicodemus. God loved Nicodemus and God was not through with this man. Those lessons echoed in his head. As the plots against Jesus became more serious, Nicodemus tried to persuade his colleagues in the temple not to turn against Jesus. In the end, his defense was not enough to stop the Passion of the Lord.

However, Nicodemus fulfills the promise of John 3 and he comes to the light again. – “Whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.” Nicodemus comes to the foot of the cross in the light of Good Friday afternoon, to remove the body and give Jesus a proper Jewish burial with the help of Joseph of Aramithea.

Action

Are you prepared to come to the light of Christ at all costs? Read Fr. John Dear, S.J. column in the National Catholic Reporter as he recounts the path of one of his Jesuit colleagues who has challenged civil authorities much like the apostles did, preaching about the limitations of life on earth.

Some of you may not support civil disobedience and actions like those of John Dear or Steve Kelly. However, today’s Gospel, this Easter season and the events of the battered world around us make us pause to think about what they are doing.

They are challenging the violent ways of our nation and offering as an antidote God’s ways of peace and love. As we wrestle with grief over what happened yesterday in Blacksburg, VA., maybe we should not dismiss John Dear, Steve Kelly and others who risk arrest and accept jail time while witnessing the Gospel.

Think about it…