In today’s Gospel we read perhaps the most quoted verse of Scripture, that “God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” It’s printed on t-shirts, coffee mugs, those fancy picture frames that everyone has hanging in their bathroom, and on pencils to hand out to youth groups.
I wonder if this is one of those verses that is so often quoted that it has lost some of its importance and just become a commonplace phrase. But today, on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, let’s take some time to really dive deep into what this passage means. If we go all the way back to the beginning we see Adam and Eve in the garden. They have been given everything they could possibly desire, but through an act of disobedience and selfishness, they lose their inheritance. They want to be God and in trying to become like him, they turn their back on the very One they want to imitate.
God, of course, knew this was going to happen and had a plan from the beginning. The irony is that God wanted to allow all of us to share in his divine life. He wanted us to participate fully and intimately in his very divinity. This was the desire of Adam and Eve, to be more like God, but they tried to get there through disobedience, while Christ brings us there by his obedience to the Father. I have shared this quote from the Catechism (221) before that states, “God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange.”
Adam and Eve lost their inheritance through disobedience. Jesus gave us our inheritance back by his obedience to the Father and offers to make us partakers of the divine life through the Holy Spirit. It’s the ultimate comeback story. This is why John 3:16 is such an important verse. Not because it can sell more merchandise to the Christian world than any other verse, but because it tells us of God’s plan right from the beginning to perfect us.
This perfection does not come without a cost. As Scripture says, “We have been purchased for a price.” That price is the death and torture of Jesus Christ, who became man in order to to allow us to fully participate in the life of the trinity. What Adam and Eve did in the beginning, and what we continue to do today through our sin, can only be rectified by God stepping in and saving us. Today, let’s rejoice that he has.
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
En el Evangelio de hoy leemos quizás el versículo más citado de la Escritura, que “Tanto amó Dios al mundo, que le entregó a su Hijo único, para que todo el que crea en él no perezca, sino que tenga la vida eterna.” Está impreso en camisetas, tazas de café, esos elegantes marcos de fotos que todo el mundo tiene colgados en el baño y en lápices para repartir entre grupos de jóvenes.
Me pregunto si es uno de esos versos que se citan con tanta frecuencia que ha perdido parte de su importancia y se ha convertido en una frase común. Pero hoy, en la Solemnidad de la Santísima Trinidad, tomemos un momento para sumergirnos en lo que significa este pasaje. Si retrocedemos hasta el principio, vemos a Adán y Eva en el jardín. Se les ha dado todo lo que podían desear, pero por un acto de desobediencia y egoísmo, pierden su herencia. Quieren ser Dios y al tratar de ser como él, le dan la espalda.
Dios, por supuesto, sabía que esto iba a suceder y tenía un plan desde el principio. La ironía es que Dios quería permitirnos a todos compartir su vida divina. Quería que participáramos plena e íntimamente en su divinidad. Este era el deseo de Adán y Eva, de ser más como Dios, pero trataron de llegar a través de la desobediencia, mientras Cristo nos lleva allí por su obediencia al Padre. He compartido esta cita del Catecismo (221) anteriormente que dice: “Él mismo es una eterna comunicación de amor: Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo, y nos ha destinado a participar en Él.”
Adán y Eva perdieron su herencia por la desobediencia. Jesús nos devolvió nuestra herencia por su obediencia al Padre y se ofrece a hacernos partícipes de la vida divina a través del Espíritu Santo. Es la última historia de retorno. Es por eso que Juan 3:16 es un versículo tan importante. No porque pueda vender más mercancía al mundo cristiano que cualquier otro versículo, sino porque nos habla del plan de Dios desde el principio para perfeccionarnos.
Esta perfección no viene sin costo. Como dice la Escritura: “Hemos sido comprados por precio”. Ese precio es la muerte y tortura de Jesucristo, quien se hizo hombre para permitirnos participar plenamente en la vida de la trinidad. Lo que Adán y Eva hicieron al principio, y lo que continuamos haciendo hoy a través de nuestro pecado, solo puede ser rectificado si Dios interviene y nos salva. Hoy, alegrémonos de que lo haya hecho.
De parte de todos nosotros aquí en Diocesan, ¡Dios los bendiga!
Tommy Shultz is a Business Development Representative for Diocesan. In this role he is committed to bringing the best software to dioceses and parishes while helping them evangelize on the digital continent. Tommy has worked in various diocese and parish roles since his graduation from Franciscan University with a Theology degree. He hopes to use his skills in evangelization, marketing, and communications, to serve the Church and bring the Good News to all. His favorite quote comes from St. John Paul II, who said, “A person is an entity of a sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love.”
Feature Image Credit: Regine Tholen, unsplash.com/photos/ojGvj7CE5OQ
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