For God so loved the world

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

- John 3:16-21

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.  There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive our witness.  If I have told you earthly things, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  My study bible calls this "the essence of the gospel:  God's gift of His Son as the ultimate expression of His love for the world."

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."  Here we have an expression of what salvation indicates for us, how faith works.  We come to be a part of this Kingdom through faith, a bond that has to do with a reciprocity of love and truth.  This is the invitation, but it is up to us how we respond to it, in our hearts.

"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  My study bible calls this "a profound insight:  Goodness and a pure heart welcome the light, whereas evil deeds and malice resist the light and seek to hide in the darkness."  Again, we get a sense of entering into a place, the Kingdom.  This is the place of light, where there is this bond of faith and love.

So, we have to ask ourselves, what is the light?  Christ is the light coming into the world.  In John's Gospel, the light comes to us through love, so that we may, through faith, enter into this bond, this place of the light.  To wish to be a part of that indicates a heart that desires real truth, and it doesn't matter whether that light will ask us to rid ourselves of something that denies the light or seeks to block it.  If the ultimate desire is for union with this light, through faith, then our own practice of repentance, or metanoia in the Greek (literally, "change of mind"), asks this light to enter in and embraces its work in us.  We have to tie in the words in today's passage with Jesus' teaching about the Spirit and about rebirth, and then come to understand the interworkings within us that all of this is talking about.  The light has come to us, but we enter into relationship with it, through faith.  We let it into our hearts and minds, allow it to illumine our own dark corners, the things we may have learned that need changing, the places where we may need to grow.  Without the light, the world is a place of darkness, of limitation, lack of sight.  But the really good news is that the light bears love, the love of God who gave the Son to us, the light to us.  It is God, in the Person of the Incarnate Jesus, who will make the sacrifice of the sign to be lifted up, as we read in yesterday's reading.  It is God who extends to us, out of love, the invitation to the light.  But it is we who respond, depending on what we truly want.  According to these words of Jesus in John's Gospel, the key to our response is whether we desire that light and truth or not, whether we want to be a part of this reality or not.  It's a process that involves our whole selves, every aspect of our lives and our choices, a journey that is ongoing into which we enter and in which we live.  But it's a journey that comes through faith and trust, and manifests in the profound bond of love, the fullness of life itself.