John 3,16-21 – Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
What does God’s love towards us consist of? Not in a simple statement made of words or sentimentality. Today’s Gospel says it clearly: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not be lost but have eternal life”. God’s love is concrete. It’s not an idea, but a fact. It is Jesus. It is in his person, in his life, in his death and resurrection that we can touch this love firsthand. This is why it makes no sense to live our relationship with God as if we were continually under judgement, oppressed by guilt, crushed by a sense of inadequacy.
In fact, the Gospel adds: “For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him.” The coming of Christ is salvation, not condemnation. It’s healing, not oppression. It’s liberation, not burden. Everything that is wounded, fragile, wrong in us is reached by this love that does not humiliate, but raises up. Yet this gift, totally free, asks to be welcomed. God does not impose himself. Love, by its nature, demands freedom. It’s like a light on: it illuminates, but it doesn’t force you to see.
In fact the Gospel continues: “The light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness more than the light.” The problem is not the absence of light, but the choice to remain with one’s eyes closed. This is why the real decision is not convincing God to love us. God already loves us, and he has shown it to us in the most radical way. The real decision is to let ourselves be loved. It is surrendering to the light. Only when we stop resisting and we accept to be enlightenedwe can finally become what we are called to be. No longer prisoners of our fears or our darkness, but people capable of living in the truth. And it is precisely this light that allows us, in turn, to shine. In fact, holiness is shining for who we are.
