Wednesday, VII Easter
(John 17)
The Gospel of John may be compared to a Soduku puzzle. Both the gospel and the puzzle are deceptively simple. The gospel uses few sophisticated words, and its sentences are brief. However, understanding its concepts requires thoughtful deliberation.
We all remember the consoling line at the beginning of the gospel where Jesus tells how “God so loved the world” that He gave to it His only Son. Here at the end of the gospel, however, Jesus is nothing but cautionary about the world. He says that the world hated his disciples and that they in no way belong to the world. The world has shown itself beyond redemption by rejecting God’s Son. Still the disciples must complete their mission of rescuing true children of God from the clutches of the Prince of the World.
Some of us might be uncomfortable with the Gospel of John’s negative evaluation of the world. We see much about secular life that promotes Christian values. For example, concern about climate change, which may have cause great suffering, stems largely from a coalition of secular institutions, including science and environmentalists. Some testimony in favor of openness toward the world can be found in Scripture passages such as, “The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it” (Psalm 24). Nevertheless, Christians are wise neither to consider the world a permanent ally nor to think that they can easily convert the world completely to their side.
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