John 3:15b-21
Yesterday, on Day 2, we were reminded that the
origin of Jesus is not Mary but the Father in heaven. When Jesus was with the
Father, way before he was conceived in the womb of Mary by the power of the
Holy Spirit – way before the body of Jesus began growing in the tummy of Mary,
Jesus was the Word, as we were reminded on Day 1.
In reflecting passages from John 8 on where Jesus is
coming from, we were also reminded that Jesus was “bullied” and thought as
“crazy”(possessed) for making a testimony – for speaking the truth – about his
origin, the Father in heaven.
Those who “bullied” Jesus for speaking the truth
about the Father, who sent Jesus to us and whom he was with in heave as the
Word, did not believe what Jesus said – his testimony – about the Father. And
Jesus later called them “blind” (John 9).
Jesus would not have to go through such a trouble –
being “bullied” – if he had stayed with the Father in heaven, had never
bothered to be sent and to come to us on earth.
But, he came, about 2,000 years ago….and he is
coming for every Christmas…coming to us. Why?
Why he is coming down to earth, even though it would mean that he might
be “bullied” and even killed by those who do not believe in him?
Jesus is coming to us, in spirit, now, during
Advent, risking himself of being “bullied” and even being killed. There must be
a really good and strong reason to override such great risks for Jesus to come
to us on earth, for God the Father to send His only begotten Son.
So, today, let us reflect on the very reason why God
the Father has sent His only begotten Son, by making the Word in the human body
of Jesus, to us.
*****
Why did God the Father in heaven decide to send His
only begotten Son to us, making the Word, who is God, Christ, appear to us in
the human body (flesh) of Jesus through the Immaculate body of Mary, the
Blessed Virgin?
To figure out why God the Father has sent and is
sending His only begotten Son, the Word (and the Wisdom) to us, by making the
Word in the human flesh of Jesus, letting him growing in the body of Mary to be
born of her, so that he can live among us, we need to go over Jesus’
conversation with Nichodemus, who believed that Jesus came from God the Father
(John 3:1-21).
Nichodemus believed that Jesus is from God because
of the miracle that Jesus performed. He said to Jesus that he would not be able
to do all these miracles unless he was with God (John 3:2). Then, Jesus said to
Nichodemus that he would not be able to see His Kingdom unless he is born again
(John 3:3).
“Born again” to be able to see the Kingdom of God,
where the Father is and where Jesus came from, as he was with the Father? Nichodemus wondered how would it be possible
to return to his mother’s body and is born of her again?!
Of course, it was Jesus’ figure of speech to teach
Nichodemus of the necessity of being baptized not only with water but also with
the Holy Spirit (John 3:6; cf. Matthew 3:11). The baptism of the Holy Spirit in
addition to the baptism of the water is to assure of eternal life (John 3:6).
Eternal life…this is very important to understand
why God the Father sent Jesus, His only begotten Son by making the Word, who
was with Him and is God, the human figure of Jesus through Mary by the power of
the Holy Spirit.
Even though we have betrayed and brought grief and
grievance to God for our sins, God never stopped loving us. When we upset God,
He turned His face away from us. And that made the world dark. But, this
darkness of the world will not last forever because God’s unceasing love for us
has prompted Him to send His only begotten Son to give us eternal life.
But, for this, we must be “born again” – meaning
that we need to be baptized not only with water but also with the Holy Spirit –
not only to receive Christ at his arrival in our clean heart but also to
benefit from eternal life. So, Jesus explained to Nichodemus:
Everyone
who believes in him may have eternal life. For 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 (John 3:15b-16).
With these words, Jesus
made it clear that God the Father, of whom he testified, sent Christ the Son as
a gift, because He loves us so much, in order for us to have eternal life
through the Son.
Jesus spoke what he explained to Nichodemus about the Father’s love for us to send the Son, Christ, to us, also during Last Supper, saying:
“For
the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to
believe that I came from God “(John 16:27).
So, God the Father
loves us so much. Therefore, Christ is sent by Him and is coming to us, as His
gift of love to us. And, we must love him and believe that Christ, Jesus, is
coming from God the Father.
Yes, Christ is on his
way to us, and he is getting nearer and nearer as Christmas draws nearer.
Do we believe that
Christ is coming from God the Father, who loves us?
And as we do believe
this, we will enjoy the light, even the world is seen as a dark place with so
many problems of injustice, pandemics, and so forth (John 3:19-21), as Christ,
who is light (John 8:12), is coming to save us (John 3:17).
Yes, Christmas is when we receive Christ as the greatest
gift of God’s love, nicely “wrapped” in the body (flesh) of Jesus, born of Mary
so that we may be saved and enjoy eternal life as we believe in him and know
that he is sent by God the Father.
The arrival (adventus)
of Christ is the undeniable evidence of how much God the Father loves us. And,
it is not only that God loves us but God Himself , who sends His gift of love, is
love (1 John 4:8,16). So, by sending His only begotten Son, the Word incarnate
(the Word in flesh), God is giving us the greatest gift of His love to be
received by our clean baptized heart, filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost,
for salvation, eternal life and the
Kingdom. And, the arrival of this gift of God’s love will make the world
brighter.
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