Gratitude for God’s love and the gift of Jesus

John 3:14–21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,
so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe stands condemned already
because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
19 This is the verdict:
Light has come into the world,
but people loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light,
and will not come into the light
for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light,
so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done
has been done in the sight of God.

Music Meditations

Jesus the Light of the World—The Rose Ensemble with Time O’Brien
Sogno de Volare--Christopher Tin (a Stanford grad)
Ode to Joy--Beethoven
Goodness of God--CeCeWinans

Opening Prayer

God, You love the world. This is my faith, Lord. Sometimes it seems to be against the evidence when floods, earthquakes, droughts and tsunamis devastate poor people… Central to my faith is the figure of Jesus, lifted up on the cross, knowing what it is to be devastated and a failure, but offering Himself in love for us. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.

Companions for the Journey

GOD’S LOVE IN JESUS CHRIST: 4th SUNDAY OF LENT B

By Brian Gleeson CP <bgleesoncp@gmail.com>

Are you and I being saved? If so, how?

When I was going to Catholic elementary school a long time ago, Christian teaching was taught by the question-and-answer method. One question the catechism asked was this: ‘Why do we call Good Friday “good”?’ It answered in these words: ‘We call that day “good”, on which Jesus Christ died, because his death has shown how much he loves us, and has brought us so many blessings.’ The answer endorses the famous and treasured saying in the gospel of John today: ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life’ (3:16) So St Paul of the Cross, Founder of the Passionists, has called the Passion and Death of Jesus, ‘the greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love’.

But in telling and re-telling the story of what Jesus did and what happened to him, not everyone has highlighted God’s love. Take the stirring hymn, ‘How Great Thou Art’, which ranks in the top five of nearly every survey of most-loved hymns in the English-speaking world! (It rocketed to fame in Billy Graham’s 1954 London Crusade). I can comfortably join in the singing about wandering through the forests, looking down from lofty mountain grandeur, feeling the gentle breeze, and praising the greatness of their Creator. I can join in the fourth verse about looking forward to the joy of that day, when Jesus will come to take me home to God. But when it comes to the third verse, I have to stop singing the words, because they seem to suggest that Jesus died as a substitute sacrifice for my sins!

And when I think that God his Son not sparing
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in.
That on the Cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.

No! God the Father did not send his Son into the world to die on the cross. Only a monster God would do such a thing. The Father sent his Son to live and love – to show and tell everyone, just how real and deep, how everlasting and unchanging, is God’s love for all human beings, bar none.

On the part of Jesus, his response to God was to be faithful to his mission from God – to make God’s kingdom of truth, love, healing, peace, and joy, happen everywhere on earth. No matter what happened to him, Jesus would not take back his commitment to that mission. But the response of his enemies was to reject God and kill Jesus. So, it was not God who created the cross, but human beings. Human malice, scorn, and hatred put Jesus on the cross. So, the cross is, first of all, a symbol of human sinfulness. In the second place, it is also a symbol of continuing divine love and fidelity. In fact, ‘God the Father both inspired Jesus with courage and love and waited on his free decision to suffer for mankind’ (Gerald O’Collins, echoing Thomas Aquinas).

The response of God the Father to the rejection of Jesus by human beings, and to the fidelity of God’s Son, was to raise him from the dead. So, God remained loving and faithful, despite human infidelity, and hostility. Indeed, in raising Jesus to life and glory, ‘God transforms the brutal and wicked act of crucifixion into an event that brings healing and liberation’ (Denis Edwards) to all who connect to the cross.

It would be a big mistake to isolate the death of Jesus from his life and ministry before it. It must be seen as the climax of the way he lived, the result of all he did and endured for the coming of the kingdom of God. The evidence of the bible suggests that Jesus was expecting both a premature and violent death, the lot of the prophets before him. It even seems that he adopted a kind of ‘bring it on’ attitude when he drove out the buyers and sellers from the Temple. But, as he saw it, what awaited him was not disaster but destiny. He accepted his cruel and unjust death, trusting that not only was it necessary for the kingdom of God to happen, but that his beloved Father (his Abba), would vindicate him, and do so personally. His trust, of course, was richly rewarded, rewarded when he rose in his body from the grave.

Salvation in Jesus may lead us to reflect with Christopher Monaghan CP: ‘God loves us with a love that is so deep that we cannot even begin to plumb its depths… In John’s gospel, Jesus is lifted up to lead us home, not to judge or condemn, but to give us life. We all need beacons in the dark that point us in the right direction, and Jesus lifted up on the cross is that beacon that will bring us safely home.’

Further reflection:

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

For God so loved the world that He gave His only son…

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

How hard is it for me to get rid of the notion that Jesus had to die to redeem us from our sins?
What kind of God would demand this?
“God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world”… do I really believe this?
Do I see the death of Jesus as an indictment by God of my sinfulness?
Do I see the cross as a symbol of guilt and remorse or as a source of renewal, life, liberation and joy? (Merton)
Are there places in my heart when light has never shone?
What can I do to bring the light in?
Some have said that it is through the cracks that the light gets in. Are there cracks in my armor or in my defenses that let others in?
That let God in?
What am I grateful for?
Has anyone in my life been a mirror of God’s love for me? Have I told her so?
Have I ever withheld love from someone who clearly wanted my love?
What was my reason? (I disapproved of his actions, she irritated me, or I like the power that this person’s apparent “neediness” gave over me, or something else)
Is that what I think God would do?
How can prayer make me more aware of God’s light in the world?
How can prayer help me shine that light on others?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

“God rejoices. Not because the problems of the world have been solved, not because all human pain and suffering have come to an end. Not because thousands of people have been converted and are not praising him for his goodness. No, God rejoices because one of his children who was lost has been found.” (Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son, p.114)

God is continually offering us the opportunity to rejoice with him at his holy banquet, if we can tear ourselves away from our own affairs to attend. What in your life distracts you from being joyful in the Lord? What can you do during this Lenten season to slow down and take joy in God’s love and care for you?

How are joy and gratitude related? What are you grateful for this very moment? If you cannot think of anything, ask yourself what is blocking you from the simple appreciation of the good things you do have in favor of bemoaning the things you don’t have. Once you have come up with something (or maybe even many things to be grateful to God for, sit in God’s presence, expressing your thankfulness and joy.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

We all know someone who is not quite satisfied with his/her gifts. Perhaps she wishes to be taller, more athletic; perhaps he wishes to be smarter, a better artist, or to have a talent for acting. Resolve to spend some time this week reinforcing his sense of giftedness, or helping her to see that she is God’s work of art. (from Songs of Life: Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford)

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

“Before a word is on my tongue you know it, O Lord, through and through. For it was you who created me in my being, knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139)

Think of all the times God’s love and providence has been active in your personal history. Which events stand out? Write them down, then compose your own psalm of gratitude, ending each phrase with “Your love endures forever”.

Literary Reflection

from Denise Levertov, late of the Stanford English Department:
How does this poem look at John 3:16? Does it cause awe? Gratitude? Wonder? Humility?
All of the those emotions?

“On the mystery of the Incarnation”

It’s when we face for a moment
the worst our kind can do, and shudder to know
the taint in our own selves, that awe
cracks the mind’s shell and enters the heart:
not to a flower, not to a dolphin,
to no innocent form
but to this creature vainly sure
it and no other is god-like, God
(out of compassion for our ugly
failure to evolve) entrusts,
as guest, as brother,
the Word.

Literary Reflection:

Read the following poem by Wendell Berry. Does it describe how we as humans generally respond to the gifts God has bestowed? Can you see ways in which our ingratitude for the very life and goods of this world have harmed it?

“Two Questions”

If you provided a marriage feast
and the thankless guests crowded
at the table getting the food
without tasting it, and shoving
one another away, so that some ate
too much and some ate nothing,
would you not be offended?

If, seated at your bountiful table,
your guests picked and finicked
over the food, eating only a little,
refusing the wine and the dessert,
claiming that to fill their bellies
and rejoice would impair their souls,
would you not be offended?

Some more poetry to enjoy:

“JOY”

When it comes back to teach you
or you come back to learn
how half alive you’ve been,
how your own ignorance and arrogance
have kept you deprived—
When it comes back to you
or you yourself return,
joy is simple, unassuming.
Red tulips on their green stems,
Early spring vegetables, bright in the pan.
The primary colors of a child’s painting,
The first lessons, all over again.

—Thomas Centolella from Lights and Mysteries

“Praying”

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones, just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest, but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

—Mary Oliver, from Thirst

Closing Prayer

Lord, we stumble around in the darkness, not realizing that the light of Your love is all around us, if we but open the eyes of our hearts and souls… Let us, as You did on that cross, turn our disappointment and sufferings into love for others

Weekly Reflections

Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 10, 2024