Wednesday of the
Second Week of Easter
(Acts 5:17-21; John 3:16-21)
Today’s gospel contains the most famous verse of the
Bible. People have only to see the
reference to know its content. Indeed, “John
3:16” has become a kind of code reminding Christians of God’s love and calling
skeptics to trust.
Curiously, the words are not put in quotation marks. Evidently, modern editors think they belong
to a narrator, not to Jesus. It would be
at least a little odd that Jesus would speak of himself in the third
person. More likely, the words are those
of teachers like the apostles in today’s first reading. Certainly, calling those who do not believe in
Jesus “condemned” will raise the ire of Jewish priests.
We may be repulsed when seeing “John 3:16” on poster board
at football games. But that is because
of the modern tendency to privatize religion. Those who brandish such signs hardly wish to
condemn anyone. They likely want only to
tell the world of Jesus Christ. Perhaps
we can enhance their efforts by Christian service. When we feed the hungry and visit the sick in
the name of Christ, our deeds will speak more eloquently than words.
