The Gospel for this Sunday is Jn 3:16-18
1. A word of introduction
In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to Nicodemus of the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God the Father, out of love for mankind, sends the Son, the Savior, so that those who accept Him may be born again of the Spirit. These are the three Names of God: Love, Savior, Giver of Life.
2. Keywords
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.
Nicodemus, a knowledgeable Pharisee who studied the Scriptures, approached Jesus at night to discuss his doubts. Who can be saved? He hears from Jesus that God is a loving Father, not a strict judge. God cares for people, he cares for every person in every part of the world.
“God is love,” we read in the letter of St. John the Apostle. And this is the shortest and most accurate description of God. The Name of God is Love.
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
The name of Jesus is the Savior. Jesus, or Yeshua in Hebrew, comes from the Hebrew word “yasha,” which means to save. God sent Jesus to offer us salvation, which means being delivered from sin, finding reconciliation, and having God’s life within us. Moreover, a happy life, which never ends.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned.
Jesus tells Nicodemus that we must believe in Him, in the Savior. Then man can be born of the Spirit. Earlier, he tells him that “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”
Spirit, or “Ruah” in Hebrew, is the breath that gives life. The Holy Spirit is the Giver of Life.
3. Today
The Holy Trinity is, therefore, a mystery of love, salvation, and life. God is very practical: He is concerned with the good of every person.
Do I thank God for his fatherly care, the gift of salvation, and the life he gives me? This week I will say this prayer with special gratitude:
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning
is now, and ever shall be
world without end.
Amen.
And today we celebrate...