Word to the Wise
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 - 2nd Week of Easter - Wed
[Acts 5:17-26 and John 3:16-21]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. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. [John]
Encounters can become confrontations. In the Gospel According to John, confrontation is a major theme, symbolized in the contrasts of light/darkness, above/below, judgment/condemnation. The familiar lines from the gospel passage today - "God so loved the world...." - portray Jesus as coming not as a judge but as a deliverer. However, the offer of faith and salvation may be rejected, which means that the one who refuses to believe creates his own judgment. The Prologue to the Gospel According to John summarizes this: "What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
We all have a "dark side" that even we may be afraid to shine a light into. The irony is that God can see it even if we, in denial, refuse to acknowledge it. A further irony is that faith in Christ came overcome our darkness and our fears of it if we will let him. But we often cling to it, even in the Sacrament of Reconciliation!! I have heard the words: "I've never confessed this before....." when hearing confessions at parish missions and retreats! The cartoon character, POGO, is often quoted as saying, "We have met the enemy and it is us!" Jesus is not our enemy but our deliverer. His light can dispel our darkness if we open ourselves to it. AMEN