On the Fourth Sunday in Lent
Epistle
Ephesians 2:4-10
Brothers and sisters:
God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his handiwork--what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Gospel
John 3:14-21
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever 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 may not perish but may have eternal life'.
'Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.'
"And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever 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 may not perish but may have eternal life'.
'Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.'
Those who believe in him are not condemned. This should not be a hard saying for the baptised but, for me, it is. What does it mean to believe? It can't be a check-list of things, though that would be easy and the tradition certainly has produced enough of them. Belief cannot be simply the fact of subscribing to a list of assertions / propositions, no matter how nobel, enlightened, engaging.
St. Paul teaches that we are saved by grace; specifically : this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works. Can belief be one of those good works God has prepared for us? If so, I stand condemned. For, whenever confronted by the dilemma of God's Grace, and the question of my ability to do, to achieve merit, I straight away embrace the long history of my failure to merit and so, despair. I am simply exhausted by the burden of it all. . . How I long to sing: Blessed assurance! Jesus is mine. with an authentic voice.
Until that day, I must say with St. Thomas : I believe, Lord. Help, Thou, my unbelief.
St. Paul teaches that we are saved by grace; specifically : this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works. Can belief be one of those good works God has prepared for us? If so, I stand condemned. For, whenever confronted by the dilemma of God's Grace, and the question of my ability to do, to achieve merit, I straight away embrace the long history of my failure to merit and so, despair. I am simply exhausted by the burden of it all. . . How I long to sing: Blessed assurance! Jesus is mine. with an authentic voice.
Until that day, I must say with St. Thomas : I believe, Lord. Help, Thou, my unbelief.
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