Word of the day

A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 5:17-26

The high priest rose up and all his companions,
that is, the party of the Sadducees,
and, filled with jealousy,
laid hands upon the Apostles and put them in the public jail.
But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,
led them out, and said,
“Go and take your place in the temple area,
and tell the people everything about this life.”
When they heard this,
they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.
When the high priest and his companions arrived,
they convened the Sanhedrin,
the full senate of the children of Israel,
and sent to the jail to have them brought in.
But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison,
so they came back and reported,
“We found the jail securely locked
and the guards stationed outside the doors,
but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report,
they were at a loss about them,
as to what this would come to.
Then someone came in and reported to them,
“The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area
and are teaching the people.”
Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them,
but without force,
because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 3:16-21

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

This passage from the Gospel of John, chapter 3 (see Jn 16-21), the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, is a true theological treatise. Everything is here. God loves us, and He loves us madly, as one of the saints used to say. God’s love appears to be madness. He loves us: “God loved the world so much that He gave us His only son” (3:16). He gave His Son and sent Him to die on the cross. Every time we look at the cross, we find this love. The crucifix is truly the great book of God’s love. It is truly an expression of God’s love. God loved us so much that He sent His Son, who annihilated Himself to the point of death on the cross, out of love. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son” (see v. 16). The love of a Father who wants his children with him. (Homily, Santa Marta, 22 April 2020)