John 3:16-18

Meditatio (Reflecting)

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned…

Oratio (Responding)

This passage begins with probably the most famous line from the bible. People hold up signs saying john 3:16 at football games, and wear trinkets with this passage listed on it. Why? God loves us all, and He wills the good for us. But before we were born God conceived us in His mind, He thought about all that we would do, and about what He willed for our lives. And He spoke a word, and we came into being. That word is your name, and that name contains everything that He wanted you to become. That name is not the name that the people of this world call you by, but it is a unique name that is only yours. But you will know that name when you stand before God in your final judgement, and he calls you by it. Your life, to the extent that you followed God’s will for you, will reflect that name, or it will be a denial of it.

St. John Chrysostom said “it is either that non belief is a condemnation because you are separated from God, and belief is the promise of future connection.” And this is the point. Your salvation or condemnation is completely your choice. Completely the result of how much you have lived out your divine name, or denied it. In each of our lives we have made big decisions. If our decisions aligned with God’s will for our lives, then our lives were peaceful, but when our decisions went against God’s will for us, then we experience the pain and suffering of our prideful denial.

Our condemnation does not come down from God, but is instead because of our free choice to separate ourselves from Him, and thus condemn ourselves. Those that do believe, are not condemned because their belief will suffice to give the grace needed to suffer the pains of purgatory, and eventually be with God in Heaven.

Our protestant brothers and sisters teach “faith alone” and they believe that all you need is faith to get to heaven, but that teaching is not written anywhere in the bible. In fact, it is the opposite of that. The Bible teaches many times in many places that the place of hell is very real. Whether you consider the story of Lazurus and Abraham and its clear description of heaven and hell, or the Marian visions at Fatima where mother Mary’s clearly warns of soul falling into hell. Or even by Jesus’ own words “be gone for I never knew you…”

We have strong evidence to believe that Jesus’s standards are higher than simple belief. Jesus said that “the luke warm he will spit out of his mouth.” Thus, I suggest that we need to be wary of our actions and that we are always directing our lives to the lord, while at the same time we also must learn to enjoy the world that God has given us. G.K. Chesterton, said (summarizing)… the world is a gift, and we are supposed to enjoy it. But we must do so with sober moderation. We cannot simply say we believe, and then go about doing whatever we want. The stakes are much much higher than that.

So the message today, is to ponder that name that God has given you, the name that is to reflect His will for your life, and then align our will to His. This choice will determine your salvation or your condemnation, so choose wisely.

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Oh lord help me to learn to enjoy your gift, while at the same time directing my life towards the your kingdom, and your mission for souls here in this world.