Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me

but also in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. 

Pope Benedict XVI set out five years ago to accentuate the positive about the Good News of Jesus. He didn’t want to talk about the darkness of sin. As you know if you read the newspapers, it’s been an uphill battle for him. When he wanted to celebrate the beauty and holiness of marriage, reporters peppered him with questions about same-sex marriage.

They just don’t get it.

But it’s never been easy to announce the Gospel. Face to face with the authority of Jesus and the beauty of his Way, people often say, “But what about…?” They want an out; they want to have it both ways. They’re happy to hear the good news but they want it on their own terms.

Then the Holy Father called for a Year of Prayer for Priests; as the blessed year draws to an end (June 19) he has been confronted with the spectacle of pedophilia among his priests. Under these circumstances can anyone beyond the narrow confines of the Catholic Church appreciate the crystal beauty of celibate chastity? How do we proclaim this good news?

In today’s gospel Jesus declares:

… if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.
Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words
has something to judge him: the word that I spoke,
it will condemn him on the last day….

I hear in these words Jesus’ confrontation with the mystery of evil. There is something perverse in our fallen human nature that shuns the light and stays in the shadows. His message is so clear and delightful and appealing, but it is also jealous. It demands our undivided attention. It will brook no compromise. His brilliant light, so desirable and good, accentuates the dark shadows in our hearts. And, despite our most sincere efforts, we continue to find new, hidden chambers of darkness within our hearts.

In another gospel passage Jesus warns that “even the elect” will be sorely tried, and he taught us to pray daily, to be delivered from “the temptation.”

No Christian can say, “I am beyond all that. I have no fear of judgment. I do not stand among the wicked.”
Rather, we pray for God’s mercy on us, our sinners and our saints, our victims and our accusers. They may not be entirely right, but they are partially right. 
And we pray that we might cling to Jesus as Mary of Bethany clung to him when confronted by her saintly sister Martha. For He did not come to condemn the world, but to save it.