April 26, 2017

Gospel: Jn 3:16-21
Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
“This is how Judgment is made: Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For whoever does wrong hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, for fear that his deeds will be seen as evil. But whoever lives according to the truth comes into the light, so that it can be clearly seen that his works have been done in God.

REFLECTION:
Genuine love is so powerful that it can move us to acts of selflessness and great sacrifice. And our God is not immune to this power of love. He so loved the world that He gave up what is most precious to Him, His only begotten Son so that the world will be saved. Through this divine sacrifice, the world was redeemed and transformed. This tells us that love is not just a feeling. It is followed up by actions that are by nature sacrificial. Because to love is to forget oneself and put the good of the beloved as your own good.
And so this sacrificial and salvific love of God demands a response. The gospel says that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. It is because Jesus is the incarnated love of the Father in our midst. And if we believe in Him, we believe in the sacrificing and salvific love of the Father. We become caught up in that love. We can go back to being “in the image and likeness of God” as before.