Homily for the Week of March 18, 2012

Fourth Sunday of Lent / Laetare Sunday 2012
2 Chr 36:14-16,19-23 • Eph 2:4-10 • Jn 3:14-21

One of the verses in this Gospel reading which I just read for you has been used by one of the National Football League quarterbacks. He is Tim Tebow. quarterback of the Denver Broncos. He always printed in white on top of his eye black the numbers 3:16 until the National Football League barred all such personal messages. In a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers he passed 316 yards and set an NFL playoff record with 31.6 yards per completion. The verse which he quoted was 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. Tebow says he has tried to praise the Lord through football in high school, college and the NFL. I just want to thank my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. He’s done so much in my life,"

We not only see John 3:16 displayed by Tebow but we often see the Bible verse displayed by people at political rallies, and at just about any event covered by television news cameras. It is said that this is the most popular verse of Bible. 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.

These words are certainly beautiful and comforting, but if all we do is isolate this verse by itself, we miss the deeper message of the entire Bible passage we use for this weekend Gospel reading. Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his Son, but for this to matter we must actively respond to this reality. Otherwise, its truth can have no meaning for us and the reality of God’s immense love cannot save us.

Today Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a member of The Great Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the supreme religious body in Israel during the time of Jesus. It was composed of 71 teachers who met daily in the Temple. It was the final authority on Jewish law and religious matters. Nicodemus was one of the members of this Sanhedrin and thus very important.

For quite some time Jesus has been teaching and talking about the fact that those who believe in him are going to have everlasting life. Jesus was misunderstood. So along comes Nicodemus. Nicodemus was not one of Jesus’ followers but had seen some of the miracles and heard many things about him which made him curious. So he wants to talk to Jesus to find out what kind of guy he was. Clearly having great respect for Jesus and great interest in His teaching, Nicodemus sought Jesus out, but he did so under the cover of darkness so he would not be found out by his fellow council members.

Just prior to the passage in our readings today, Nicodemus had taken literally Jesus’ statement that we must be born again in order to go to heaven. Jesus had said to be born again, but born spiritually. Nicodemus did not understand this teaching, perhaps could not understand it, because of his deep Jewish belief that physical birth was the path to heaven. You could only get into heaven if you were a Jew and a blood descendent of Abraham.

Jesus had been teaching about three years. So Christians had come to believe that belief in Jesus, not being a descendent of Abraham, was the requirement for salvation. They understood that, rather than being born in Abraham’s line, one must be born in the Holy Spirit. You and I were born in the Holy Spirit on the day we were baptized. Thus you can see the great importance of Baptism.

We are not told whether Nicodemus came to believe in Jesus, but Nicodemus’ works suggest that he did see the light. When the Sanhedrin sought to condemn Jesus, Nicodemus hoped that a trial would help. Later, after Jesus died, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, took Jesus’ body and gave Him a proper burial.

The Gospel today presents Jesus as tough, difficult and unswerving in His teachings, and Jesus’ tough teaching with Nicodemus is revealed again in our passage today. Jesus was born and came in human existence at a time of crisis in the Jewish religion and spirituality. People had been wandering away from the 10 commandments and the caring for one another. The crisis presented to Nicodemus was the need to make an absolute decision: believe in Jesus or not. There is no middle ground. To choose Jesus is to choose eternal life.

Jesus also emphasizes to Nicodemus that there it is important to decide now. Decide now! Light or Darkness. The sense of Jesus’ words implies that once we have heard His word, we must make a choice, and that, if we drag our feet, the door will be closed and there will be no opportunity for a change of heart.

It should be noted that the word “believe” appears in St. John’s Gospel more than in any other place in the Bible. Further, it must be noted that the word “faith” never appears in John. He always uses a verb “believe” to describe our connection with Jesus. A decision for Jesus means doing something. Accepting Jesus means continual action on behalf of God.

Each of us must decide for Christ or against Christ. Our actions will reveal our choice. Consider your life as you are living it right now. In what ways do you prefer darkness, and in what ways do you prefer light? Do you feel genuinely happy when something good happens to someone else? This week, pay attention to the chooses you make, asking Jesus to help you choose to live in his light. You don’ have to be a football player to believe Jesus when he says to us: 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.