Homily: 19 April 2023: John 3:16-21

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Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.

My nephew was adopted at birth by my sister and her husband.  He was not begotten by my brother-in-law but was adopted.  The father who begot him could not raise him.

God did not send his adopted son into the world but his only begotten son.  The begotten son shares the DNA of his male parent.  He will grow up to look like him and, if he has raised him, the son will act like the male parent.  It follows, then, that the Father and the only-begotten are on the same page, thinking and acting alike.

Neither the Son nor the Father condemns the world.  Together both save the world.  Both Father and Son have the same purpose, to save and heal rather than condemn and kill.

Believing is having faith, depending on another and trusting that other.  Of ourselves we cannot save ourselves.  Of ourselves, we can only fail.  Only by believing in the Son do we have access to the Father, which is our life.

Condemnation is self-condemnation.  It comes from ourselves, not from God.  God is light, life and freedom.  The Father, who is light, sent his only-begotten Son, who is light, to show us how to live the light instead of the darkness, how to live freedom rather than condemnation.  This is the verdict for us, that the light came into the world, and we welcomes the light because we could work good and not evil.

God loved the world so much that he sent his only-begotten Son into the world.  The Son loved us so much that he came into the world to save the world.  The purpose of the Father and the purpose of the Son is identical, to save the world.  The power of the Father and the power of the Son is such that whatever they decide to do they accomplish.  Their will is to save the world, including us, and they will accomplish this will, this plan, this purpose.