Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
Some bibles are edited and marketed for their comforting messages. Though they offer the complete texts of the Old and New Testaments, introductions, footnotes, marginalia and highlights will accentuate reassuring passages like Psalm 23 and Psalm 91.
I've never been a great consumer of these editions, preferring to take the Message neat; but I do appreciate the Lord's humble dedication to his people. I certainly need as much comfort as anyone, and more than some.
With his First Letter, the Evangelist John reassured his congregations, "...you have eternal life!" Despite the knife-edged subtlety of the gospel that would separate "soul and spirit, joints and marrow," you may rest assured of God's watchful care. You are the elect, the favored, the blessed for you know the Lord and the Lord knows you. The same flaming sword that prevents Adam and Eve from reentering Eden guards the paradise of your soul.
Christian mystics often experience the Lord coming to rest and be refreshed in their inner gardens, where he walks with them in complete and wonderful security. I see that serenity in the congregations who attend Sunday and weekday Masses. For a while they leave their problems in God's hands as they rest in his presence. When they retrieve their problems after Mass, they're noticeably smaller. Like Saint Nicholas who stealthily leaves his blessings where children might find them, the Lord quietly, unobtrusively reduces our loads.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
If anyone supposes the gospel is terribly complicated, if some pharisaic preachers and teachers build a gate too narrow for anyone to enter, Saint John assures, "Believe that Jesus is the Son of God!"
That's pretty simple and pretty radical. On the one hand you've heard this story all your life. You know of his birth of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem; the thunderclap that declared, "This is my beloved son!"; his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. These stories belong in your personal history and you know them. It's radical too for, as an adult, you may have grown somewhat cynical of people in general. "How likely is it," you might ask, "that a man is God."
Saint John invites us to faith, hope and love, as opposed to cynicism. The faithful readily agree the Life of the Holy Spirit is far more satisfying despite its challenges than the life of doubt, suspicion and cool distances from everyone and everything. Belief in the Son of God requires courage at every step; we could not do it without the courage of the One who bore out transgressions.
But our life is not as complicated as the life of unbelief. In the end we belong to God; we have this testimony in ourselves.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.