Wednesday, April 18, 2012

God So Loved the World

April 18, 2012

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

By Colleen O'Sullivan

(Jesus said to Nicodemus:) 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… And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. (John 3:16-17, 19)

Piety

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!

(from What Wondrous Love is This, an American folk hymn)

Study

In today’s Gospel reading, we hear Jesus talking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who has come to see the Lord under cover of darkness. Nicodemus appears three times in John’s Gospel – here, seeking the teachings of Jesus; at the Feast of Tabernacles as a member of the Sanhedrin, admonishing those seeking to arrest Jesus because Jewish law doesn’t condemn anyone before first hearing him out (John 7:45-52); and, after the Crucifixion, helping Joseph of Arimathea lovingly prepare Jesus’ body for burial (John 19:38-42).

I wonder if living through the events of that last week in Jesus’ life convinced Nicodemus of the truth of Jesus’ words: God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to condemn us, but to save us.

As I spent Holy Week on retreat, I thought about Nicodemus many times, because my eyes were drawn again and again to a window in the chapel depicting Nicodemus’ surreptitious visit to the Lord. I wondered as I sat there whether, when everything was said and done, this Pharisee had become a believer. Did he live out the remainder of his days knowing how very much the Lord loved him?

If I took one thing away from my retreat, it is the reminder that you and I are loved with a totally unmerited, overwhelming love. From the caring washing of the disciples’ feet to promising to be with us always in the breaking of the bread and sharing of the cup of the Eucharist to undergoing beating and taunting without the presence or support of friends to finally giving up his life for us on the Cross – it’s all God’s way of saving us from ourselves and the darkness of which Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, the darkness of sin into which we human beings inevitably wander.

Action

The good news is that we have a God who came to save us, not condemn us. During this Easter season, open your heart to the Risen Lord and allow God’s light to shine in the dark places in your life.

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