Light stronger than darkness
For the third day in a row in the daily Gospel, we witness the dialogue of the Lord Jesus with Nicodemus, who came to the Master under the cover of night. The questions and doubts that arise in the heart and mind of this Jewish dignitary are the way to Jesus who knows of the answer. Contrary to Judas, who left the Upper Room when it was night and went into darkness by going away from Jesus, Nicodemus, out of the darkness of the world, has the courage to come closer to the light.
There is a spiritual battle in the world between good and evil, truth and lies, love and hate, beauty and ugliness, light and darkness ... God does not take offense at man who, at his own wishes, opposes his Creator. He never stops caring for us and even loving us. We are sometimes tired of ourselves and of the world that surrounds us; even hope seems to die at times.
God's response to the darkness and lies of man and the world is a gift made by God himself: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Love is measured by the size of the sacrifices. God made the greatest sacrifice possible on the cross. He has proved how much he loves us.
Today together, You and me, I want us to meet a God who loves. A God who loved the world. Who himself is Love.
God loved the world so much ... So how? Since I was a child, I have been learning for what I should be grateful to God for. Many times, I did not understand it, I saw no reason to be grateful. I have not experienced His love. The hardest part was accepting life itself as a gift. My thinking was: what gift! There is so much suffering, hardship, crying in life ... if I were not alive, I would not even realize that I am missing something, that I did not receive this gift. So why thank God for life? Over time, as I liked my life despite the hardships and tears, I began to understand why it was a manifestation of God's love. God wanted me. He invented me with his heart. And keeps in loving my existence.
This is how God loved the world ... The world was not made of itself. Although even a creature is endowed with a certain freedom of evolution, it is not a source of existence for itself. God is the One from whom everything comes, from whom it begins. He is the only one who has no beginning. It is God who is the Father. Not like an earthly father. He is a father who responds to my deepest desires and needs, because he has placed it in me. He is the Father that I am like. A father who trusted me, entrusting me with his life, giving me freedom.
God loved the world so much ... What is this love? Unconditional, paternal, personal, caring and gentle. God loves me not only as his creature, but as his child. He also gives this love to everything that exists. If there is something, it is because God loves it. He loved the world and everything that is in it. In the New Testament, "the world" often appears as a reality hostile to Revelation, to the mission of Christ. And Jesus says that God loves the world and because of this love, He sent Him to testify of this love with His life. If that is the case, then I want to love the world too. To love those who do not think like me, who stray, fall ... like me. I want to become Love.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george