For God so loved the world

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’

- John 3:16-21

This perhaps most-famously quoted passage which we see so frequently comes immediately following yesterday's reading in which Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about baptism and rebirth in Spirit. In that passage Jesus compared the Spirit to wind, which blows where it chooses, and we hear the sound of it, but we don't know where it comes from, nor where it is going. Also in yesterday's reading, Jesus once again invoked the image of the one great sign he will leave, that he will be "lifted up" as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness to save the Israelites from deadly snake bites. Here, then, in our first verse that is so often quoted, we have Jesus' continuation of his commentary on that "sign" and its salvation. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

My study bible notes that John 3:16 is "the essence of the gospel: God's gift of His Son as the ultimate expression of His love for the world." I think it's interesting to understand the statement in its context. Jesus has just finished discussing baptism with one who cannot understand how it works (Nicodemus). Jesus therefore explains the mysterious workings of Spirit - both as mystery and as the way in which people are transformed, life is transfigured. Jesus explains that this is so that those who receive It can see the kingdom of heaven, and have eternal life. And then Jesus gives the great reason for his presence in the world and the sign he will leave, his "lifting up:" Resurrection and Ascension. So faith is tied in to this living reality of the Spirit: the symbolic death and our own "lifting up" out of the waters of baptism to receive Spirit, and his own Passion, death, Resurrection as a sign for believers.

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God." This saving power of living Spirit, the reality of the Anointing that will belong to all of us, is given to us as gift, so that we too may join in that eternal life to which Jesus will be lifted. But St. Paul will also report that this great sign will be "foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews." This teaching, this sign, will confound many. And yet, its impact will build something as well. It will build faith in the whole notion of Resurrection and all of its aspects and impacts in our lives. No matter what happens in life, what happens to the body, Resurrection gives us a notion of continuing life, renewal, a place to put our faith and ask for direction. It is an eternal hope in the sense that we always put our hope in something that is triumphant over the world and its circumstances. Through this sign and this Resurrection, we know that the judgment of the world is false, and that there is a better Judgment to consider. In the darkest time, those who have faith in this sign have hope for a purpose and a Reality that trumps all, triumphs over all.

"And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil." Jesus tells us in this gospel that those who commit evil deeds prefer the darkness to the light. Let us consider a moment the contrast between darkness and light, evil and good. What are evil deeds? Evil deeds stem from every form of manipulation, greed, selfishness. Its great expression often takes the shape of tremendous violence with no respect for what is good, only for effecting a reality that serves selfish short-sighted motives empty of value except perhaps greed. Let us contrast the "giving" of Jesus - who gives his life - with the motives and effect of what we consider evil deeds, such as Herod's slaughtering of the Holy Innocents, for example. Jesus' Resurrection, his "lifting up" of which he's speaking here, is pointing to the great reality beyond the appearances of the world. It teaches us not only about the Kingdom and the Spirit, but also about our own value as human beings. It transcends worldly circumstances and appearance to teach us who we are. In that light of Resurrection, we indeed are exalted beings. God comes to our world to shed His light so that we too become like Him. But in the darkness of evil and selfishness, all we amount to is what we can plunder and take, the things we own that moth and rust will steal away, and death remains death. The evil therefore that wields a hand of death and violence rules the world in this vision of darkness without hope and without life. We must contrast these images of life: manipulative power vs. redemptive power, death vs. life, to understand what it is that John here is talking about in all its depth and meaning. And yet, we are still only touching the surface. In that Resurrection we have a hope of so much more, and we have values for which to live our lives that transcend the world of violence and death and greed. Mankind is elevated to something the angels serve.

"For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed." Deep down, Jesus is saying, the evil is aware that it is evil and that its deeds must remain hidden. There is a layer, a depth of reality, that even the evil itself must recognize. We recall the healings in the gospels in which demons all recognize Jesus and who he really is. In the strange poetic sense of the gospels and their quality of metaphor, it is in the darkness that we believe only in appearances via this power of manipulation. It is in the light that we understand there is so much more to life than appearance, so much depth behind the surface of who we appear to be. There is so much more meaning to life, and so much more that makes up a human being!

"But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God." We hear the echo of the prayers of the psalmist (Psalm 36:9): that "in Your light we see light." A passion for the truth, for the light, is characteristic of those who are "pure in heart." We recall this phrase from the Beatitudes, and our discussion of the character of Nathanael, of whom Jesus said just a few passages before this one in John's gospel, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit," translated in the King James bible as "no guile." We are speaking of the depth of truth in the heart here, a heart that will seek out the light in order to come before it, and not hide from that light. Jesus is telling us about the depth of reality within a human being. He always goes beyond appearances, taking us beyond the idea that religious practice is only about "the letter of the law" and into the territory of the depth of the heart and what character we have. It is there that human beings are judged and known; that depth of the self, so far from the surface of life and its manipulation, violence, greed, possession, makes us so much more than our appearance to the world. It is the Judgment Jesus is speaking of where we are known in our hearts, and He is the knower of hearts. Think about what it means to seek the light of that Resurrection and all the possibilities inherent in us as human beings. We are so much more than the appearance we can make to the world. He calls us to Him in our hearts, all of us, our whole depth and being. It is there in which we seek the light so that we can be like the light, and share in His life.