Gospel: John 3: 13-17
Given the overwhelming preference for Christians to condemn, we might find it surprising to learn today that in fact Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it. Throughout his entire ministry, Jesus was about saving people through healing, liberation, and feeding. In these actions there were no preconditions, and those who thought they were bouncers or gatekeepers to such encounters were each and every time rebuked.
How small is our love and mercy compared with that of the Lord! We place so many limitations on who is worthy to receive our charity and our communion. We continue to build ever more stringent worthiness machines to weed out those we deem unfit for the communion line or the charity portal. Little wonder that politics is the determinate of the Gospel and not vice versa in our world today.
Today's feast is a reminder that the Lord Jesus died for the sake of all, that the words "Father, forgive them" applies to all and not just to me and my select few within my circle. It is a reminder that the Church's mission is to all people, that all people in some sense belong to the Church - not because they think so but because we do.
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