The Gospel
of John is often times referred to as the Gospel of Love. The theme of love
lies at the heart of the Fourth Gospel, pervading every aspect of the book. John’s
Gospel finds Jesus constantly teaching about love, speaking about love,
commanding his disciples to love.
Jesus’
actions are manifestations of God’s love for us, he tells us to love one
another as He has loved us. He makes known the love of God and directs his
disciples to love God and our neighbor. Jesus himself tells us that he loves
us. “I love you” are on the very lips of Jesus himself: “as the Father loves
me, so I love you.”
Today, we
heard the very first instance of the word love in John’s Gospel. In the
conversation with Nicodemus, in Chapter 3, verse 16, we read the verse: “For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
This verse
is treated by many as a sort of summary of the Gospel of Love. God desires our
salvation because he loves us, and salvation is found in Jesus Christ. God sent
his Son because God wants eternal life for us because he loves us.
During the
Easter Season we consider how we are called to witness to God in our words and
deeds. But we are not witnessing to some abstract notion of God—a faceless,
nameless, cosmic force. We witness to the love of God made manifest in Christ
Jesus risen from the dead.
This is a God
who desires the salvation of even the most debased of sinners because he truly
loves. He wants what is best for each of us: the flourishing of our minds and
souls and our salvation.
But love is
not forced. So, the question posed by the Gospel of John is: will you allow
yourself to be loved by God by following where he leads, by believing in the
Truth he reveals, by changing those behaviors and ideas that cause you to be
less than what you were made to be.
Answering that
question in the affirmative, we begin to love what God loves, and we recognize
that we have a role to play in spreading the kingdom of his love in word and
deed by witnessing to the one who offers eternal life and sets souls free.
The experience of Easter is to be immersed in the love
of God, to be transformed by the love of God, to become instruments of the love
of God for the glory of God and the salvation of sous.
Rejoicing in
God's boundless love revealed in Christ Jesus, we offer our prayers and
petitions to our Heavenly Father.
For all
Christians, that we may experience deeply the love of God and courageously
witness to it in our daily lives.
For peace in
our families and communities, that the love of Christ may inspire
reconciliation, forgiveness, and unity among us.
For the Holy
Spirit’s guidance of the College of Cardinals as they prepare for Conclave and
the next Papal election.
For the
sick, the suffering, and all who feel forgotten or unloved, that they may
experience the comfort and healing touch of Christ’s compassion.
For our
beloved dead, that they may fully experience the eternal life promised through
God's infinite love.
Heavenly
Father, your love for us is eternal and unfailing. Hear our prayers, and help
us to be living witnesses of that love to all we encounter. We ask this through
Christ our Lord.
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