‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son..he sent him into the world not to
condemn the world but to save..that all may have eternal life’. This is the most loved
and popular passage in the New Testament. Sending the Son was God’s act of love to
save, heal the world. To a world that had been afraid of God’s closeness and terrified
by the image of a punishing God, gospel says, it is not to condemn the world but to
save that the Son was sent. Accepting in faith, the love God has freely given to us is
the way to salvation. Jesus is servant of God lifted up on the cross; beholding him is
conversion of hearts and confession of faith. His cross offers forgiveness and invites all
to give up sin. Jesus is the light that sheds light on human behavior, the grace to know
the darkness and enmity that destroy life and let all that go! The condemned are those
who reject love, who ignore light and love darkness; they also condemn others. Love
alone can redeem, heal and make a difference in people’s life. The law of God that
judges everything is light and love.
First reading says that the priests, people piled up abomination and thought idols
would save; they abandoned the God who saved them from slavery in Egypt, all ended
up in the destruction of the temple and exile of the people by Babylonians. Psalm
speaks of people’s longing for their homeland and to return to God. Exile was a time of
purification and conversion for the people of Israel. The world is in a redeemed state
through the cross of Christ, however each person has to choose the power of love
revealed in the cross of Christ to experience salvation. Christian life is a constant
encounter with the incoming love of God in Jesus. Our faith illumines love and love
strengthens faith, both help us to live in hope, against all dark and frustrating
experiences in life, a life moving toward God, finally to rest in God. Love is about the
other [God and neighbor]; it flows from the knowledge that ‘I am loved’ by God and life
is a gift from God.
Love is an invitation to communion/union with God. Responding to God’s love must be
translated into act of forgiveness, reconciliation and charity toward all. A group of
teenagers trying to live the gospel reflects on what Jesus says, ‘remain in my love’, and
they wrote this about God’s love: ‘a voice in our hearts will tell us what we should do or
say in every situation. Is someone hungry, I am hungry too; let us give them something
to eat. Is someone sad/ I am too; let us try to comfort them and share their pain. Does
anyone have a problem? I want to love them and feel their difficulties as my own. Have
you ever felt the thirst for something infinite. did you ever feel dissatisfied with what
you do or who you are? If so, you will be happy to discover a secret that will fill your
heart and give you what you desire; it is a love for everyone, ‘let us love every person
we meet during the day whether they are nice, friend or enemy, treat them as we would
like to be treated’. Living the gospel lights up the world with light of Christ.
Cross of Christ is God loving us without conditions. Sin is not responding to this love
with love! Pope Francis: ‘by his cross we have been healed, so nothing can separate us
from his love. Be kind to oneself and others to embrace hardships with courage. You
have been healed by the cross of Christ and his love enables you to abandon envy,
hatred, thoughts of vengeance. You have been healed by the cross of Christ to
embrace hope, to be companions of those who struggle’. Don’t be afraid, have faith
and ‘unload all your burdens on to the Lord, for he is concerned about you’ [1Peter
5:7].