From Ash Wednesday to Wednesday of the 2nd week of Eastertide how quickly time has flown, let us therefore reflect a little today on how our journey has been?
We had been imprisoned by our sins, we renounced them, took up our cross to follow after our Lord; and have since be set free once again by the power of our Lord’s death and resurrection. Are we then rejoicing and telling people about this new Life in Christ?
Of all the scripture passages it is this one in today’s Gospel that even the least disciplined Christian can not only remember, but perhaps quote word for word! ‘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. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.
Question for us is not about whether we can quote it but are we living it? Do we truly believe in Jesus Christ our Lord who died and rose from the dead for love of us? If we say we do then how many souls have we saved by sharing the good news that our Saviour did not come to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved. All who are weary and burdened will find rest in Him!
Sisters and brothers let us be His light in the world, let us cast the darkness away from the lives of all He sends our way. Amen
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First reading
Acts 5:17-26 ·
The men you imprisoned are in the Temple, preaching to the people
The high priest intervened with all his supporters from the party of the Sadducees. Prompted by jealousy, they arrested the apostles and had them put in the common gaol.
But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates and said as he led them out, ‘Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life.’ They did as they were told; they went into the Temple at dawn and began to preach.
When the high priest arrived, he and his supporters convened the Sanhedrin – this was the full Senate of Israel – and sent to the gaol for them to be brought. But when the officials arrived at the prison they found they were not inside, so they went back and reported, ‘We found the gaol securely locked and the warders on duty at the gates, but when we unlocked the door we found no one inside.’ When the captain of the Temple and the chief priests heard this news they wondered what this could mean. Then a man arrived with fresh news. ‘At this very moment’ he said, ‘the men you imprisoned are in the Temple. They are standing there preaching to the people.’ The captain went with his men and fetched them. They were afraid to use force in case the people stoned them.
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Gospel
John 3:16-21
God sent his Son into the world so that through him the world might be saved
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
‘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.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him will be condemned;
but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,
because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.
On these grounds is sentence pronounced:
that though the light has come into the world
men have shown they prefer darkness to the light
because their deeds were evil.
And indeed, everybody who does wrong
hates the light and avoids it,
for fear his actions should be exposed;
but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light,
so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.’
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