May 18, 2011
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
By Colleen O’Sullivan
Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.” (John 12:44-50)
Piety
The goal of our life is to live with God forever.
God, who loves us, gave us life.
Our own response of love allows God’s life
to flow into us without limit.
(from “The First Principle and Foundation,” St. Ignatius of Loyola, as paraphrased by David L. Fleming, S.J., “Hearts on Fire,” p. 7)
StudySeveral years ago my Cursillo group read “The Shack” and were discussing it when someone commented that she hadn’t learned anything new from it. I said that, among other things, for me it reinforced how much God truly loves each of us. True, this is not new information, but there are too many people in the world who don’t feel or live as though they are loved by God, and it can’t hurt to be reminded. I thought back to that discussion when I was reading today’s Gospel lesson.
Our Gospel reading comes at the end of what is known as the Book of Signs (chapters 1-12 of John’s Gospel). Although the word “love” itself isn’t found anywhere in this passage, it seems to me to be a wonderful summary of Jesus’ and his Father’s love for us. At the end of his public ministry, Jesus lays it out for us: Here you have it. I have shown you everything. My love for you knows no bounds. Don’t be afraid of me. I didn’t come to condemn you; I came to save you. I’ve revealed myself to you through many signs (seven as recorded in this Gospel – the changing of water into wine at Cana, the healing of the royal official’s son, the healing of the paralyzed man at the public pool, the multiplication of the loaves and feeding of the crowd, Jesus’ walking on water, the healing of the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus from the dead). I have shown myself to be the life-giving Word to you, the Bread of Life to feed and sustain you, the Light to illuminate your darkness, and the Resurrection and the Life that you may have everlasting life. None of this comes from me alone; “the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.”
What a contrast to the childhood image of God I had. In catechism class, souls were drawn on the blackboard as circles filled in with white. Every time you committed a sin, a spot was wiped black. If you were guilty of a mortal sin, the entire thing was erased from the blackboard. God was always checking out the state of your soul. I imagined my soul as an invisible (to me) white plate in my body that God would periodically pull out and look at. God was always on the lookout for wrongdoing. Somehow I missed out on the “God loves you” part of the gospel.
But, the good news is that God does love us. As his Son tells us, God isn’t hounding us, trying to trip us up. On the contrary, he sent his Son to save us. All you and I are asked to do is accept his love, believe in him and live as people who are cherished by the Lord – and that is often far more difficult to do than it sounds.
Action
“Behold God beholding you…and smiling,” is a short saying by Anthony de Mello, S.J. Take a few moments today to do just that. Does your image of God allow you to picture God looking at you, loving you with an overwhelming love and smiling at you, one of his beloved creatures?
