Gospel reading: Jn 3:13-17
JESUS said to Nicodemus: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
For 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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
REFLECTION: That the world might be saved through him
John believes that Jesus has to undergo suffering and death so that the world may be saved. The Evangelist has expressed this conviction at the beginning of his gospel and intends to develop it in his whole gospel account. John compares the crucified Jesus to the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses in the desert.
Why is Jesus doing this? Does the world deserve to be saved in the first place? Jesus is willing to give himself because of God’s love for the world. Without God’s love, Jesus’ efforts are meaningless. It is God’s love that inspires the actions of Jesus.
Out of obedience Jesus pays a great price to accomplish his mission. The world is not all evil, abandoned by God, and beyond redemption. The Father values what he has created. It should not be wasted. Jesus is willing to bring people back to God.
It is not enough that Jesus should die for people. There must be a response of faith. The people must see the meaning of his efforts. They must believe that Jesus hangs on the cross because of God’s love.
We Christians are included in the list of God’s love. We, too, have sinned like the rest of the world, and Jesus has paid a great price for our salvation.
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We are not hopeless and beyond redemption.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
