Lenten Reflection for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

Our Gospel reading for this Sunday comes from John... Often times, when one thinks of John 3:16, perhaps the image of a sign at a football game comes to mind. This passage, of course, is one that can be found in our Gospel reading for this Sunday. John states, "For 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.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him". The question I recently had to answer in one of my class assignments at first seemed seemingly simple. The question was this: "How does Jesus save us?" The simple response could be, "through his death and resurrection". This leads to the next question, "How did the death of Jesus on the cross save us?" Hopefully, you see where this starts to get complicated... How would you respond to this question? St. Anselm's approach was one that most of us are familiar with. Anselm's basic premise was that at some point, humanity fell into sin through disobedience. This sin was so insulting to God, that in order to restore humanity's relationship to the Father, a savior was needed...a savior that was both human and divine.... a savior that could "pay the debt" owed to God for our sin. This savior is of course Jesus. Jesus offered himself as a total sacrifice to the Father in order to restore us to right relationship with God. This is one approach to the question...
I would like to offer another....The one of Blessed John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan who lived from 1266-1308. Scotus, in his writing, had stated that even if humanity hadn't sinned, Christ would still have come into the world... Scotus said that even though Jesus' coming into the world has a redeeming aspect, this wasn't the primary purpose for this coming. Jesus came into the world to offer us a share in His divine life and freedom. If we can understand this, than the redemptive aspect, in my opinion, would be easier for us to understand. It is important to point out that for Scotus, and even Bonaventure, God created humanity and the whole world out of love. Our God is a God of perfect love, and for love to be perfect, it must be shared with another. God therefore created the world and in fact the whole cosmos not because God needed to, but rather out of love. Furthermore, love also includes a desire for the other to be perfect in love as well. For Bonaventure and Scotus, the world is an expression of God's love. The human life of Jesus was a perfect expression of God's love. In Christ, God entered into the world in a real way. In the creation, God continues to create, so that God can bring about another that God can love and be loved back in return. However, creation would not be complete without Christ.
In a sense, creation and salvation go together. Think about the story of creation.... No...not just the story of creation in Genesis. Rather, one can think of creation as including the whole creation of the people of Israel as God's own people. In the book of Exodus, God brought a new people out of the land of Egypt through the help of Moses. The redemption of God's people out of the hand of Pharaoh was also part of God's creative work. God freed the people from slavery and oppression, in order to allow them to be who they were meant to be...God's people. They were freed from service to Pharaoh in order to serve their God. Throughout history, God has come in every crisis in order to recreate His people... God's saving acts are expressions of God's fidelity as creator. God comes to bring life out of death. Failure, sin, and death has always been a part of life. . God entered the world through Christ in order to bring us divine life. In regards to sin, sin isn't just a matter of breaking God's rules, but rather, is a threat to the life that God gives to us...
As John says in our Gospel reading, " And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light,because their works were evil. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. Jesus is inviting us to come "to the light". It is our choice to either accept the invitation or refuse it... We have a choice either to enter into relationship with God or not to. How does Jesus save us? Fr. Randy Sachs, SJ, said that "it is to be brought our of bad ways of living and to enter into God's way of living". Jesus, in his words and his very way of living, offered us the example of what it means to have life and have it to the fullest. Jesus lived in fidelity to his Father's will and in fidelity to those whom he served. He remained faithful to the Truth even though it would lead to his rejection and crucifixion. The cross is the ultimate sign of Christ's fidelity to his Father and to us. Jesus has left us an example to follow... for Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life".

I would like to first of all give credit to Fr. Randy Sachs, whose material from our Christology Class this past week (March 17, 2009) was the basis for much of my discussion on Scotus and Bonaventure, as well as many of the insights offered in regards to salvation and the cross. This is my first blog entry and I'm quite excited about it. As one might say, "I finally caved in to the world of blogging". Some of my blog posts will be reflections such as the one posted today, although I would like to vary it from time to time. While at Good Shepherd last year, I composed weekly reflections for use in a Holy Hour that I coordinated. It seems like most people enjoyed the reflections, and quite frankly, I have missed offering them. I would also like to share stories and give updates on how my experience in ministerial formation and studies are going. I am not sure how often I will post updates, but I hope to do this regularly.
This summer, I will be returning to Honduras as a co-director for our cross-cultural program in Ocotopeque, Honduras. This is a two month program, and I am very excited to have the opportunity to return to Honduras for the second time. I will most likely be working part-time in the town parish of San Jose as well, in order to gain more ministerial experience in a parish and to further improve my Spanish speaking abilities. There are five student friars that will be part of the program, and I am excited that I will be working with them in the program. Cross cultural experiences are really great. They are very challenging, but from my own experience, I believe that they lead to a deeper understanding of our relationship with God and our brothers and sisters on a global scale. In living with Capuchins from Honduras and other countries in Central America, this also leads to a deeper commitment and understanding of what it means to be part of a global fraternity of brothers, committed to following in the footsteps of our brother, St. Francis. Until next time, stay well, and may God bless you!