Now is the Time to Believe
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke guide the weekend celebrations of the Eucharist in a three-year cycle. This year we proclaim Cycle B, meaning we are reading and taking themes for much of the year from the Gospel of Mark. However, in each of the three years, at select times, we hear from the Gospel of John. For example, every year almost all of the Easter Season readings are from John. Some years during much of Lent we hear passages from John that accompany the Scrutiny rituals of the RCIA. John is read at other times as well, such as the Christmas season and on Holy Thursday.
This weekend, in a year of Mark, we hear a passage from the third chapter of John that mentions a significant word often used interchangeably with faith. It is also one of the significant themes of John’s entire Gospel. In other words, this passage is a big deal.
The word is BELIEVE. It is mentioned over 100 times in the Gospel of John, and that is why we used it this week as an extension of our Lenten theme, Now is the Time…
So we hear this weekend one of, if not THE, most quoted passages in all of scripture:
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who BELIEVES in him might not perish, but have eternal life.
The passage we hear this weekend is more than just that particular quote. The full text is 3:14-21 and contains the grounding of the word believe in the faith of Moses and the Old Testament people. The word Believe is mentioned five times alone in this passage.
Ultimately this entire passage urges us to see the light of our faith in Jesus Christ, and identifies truth, expressed through our faith coming to light by our works, motivated by our belief in Jesus Christ.
I believe that this is another example of the importance of putting our faith into action. Our works and THE work of our faith must always be done in partnership with God. We must live the truth of God’s love for us, which means that our God-extended works are seen with, and in, the light of truth.
To believe is to accept and to hold truth. It is a verb expressing the action of the words Given, Accepted and Held. Faith is a noun that identifies more specific examples or outcomes, if you will, of belief.
Our second reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is a great compliment to the concept of work. It encourages us to see ourselves as God’s “…handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
These readings remind us of God’s work and our work coming together
This all points to one of my favorite convictions – faith is the manifestation of the partnership between God and humanity that I call the Divine/Human enterprise. We work with God to bring the realities of truth into our world. The first step in making that enterprise fruitful and successful is BELIEVING some important and foundational things, such as who Jesus is and his extension of the truth of God’s love for us.
Solidarity
We prayed the following at Mass this past weekend. May it be a continual reminder of what SOLIDARITY as a Catholic Social Teaching means:
We are one human family. We are our brothers and sisters keepers,
wherever they may be.
Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in an interdependent world.
At the core of our virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace.
Consider living out Solidarity by supporting our Lenten Social Justice Project and assist the ministry of the Little Sisters of the Poor and the home they have created for the elderly at St. Joseph’s in Palatine.