The Perfect Kind of Love

Gospel
22 March 2009
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Jn 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

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.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

***
By Kevin Balero

I remember when I was in third year high school, our CLE teacher told us that today’s gospel passage is the “core of the whole Gospel.” She said that it contains the very essence of what the Good News is all about – the coming of Christ.

And then I fell into a deep ocean of thought. I told myself, “Wow! God must really love us human beings.” Imagine, His love for us is so intense that He is willing to live among us so that by believing in Him we may attain an everlasting life.

But then another point struck me. “When you love, give until it hurts.” And certainly, that is exactly what God did. He gave Himself to us by being human like us to show His love. He did not want to leave us all to die. He wanted to be with us in heaven. That is why He sent His only Son, true God, to become a true human being so that we may attain salvation. And certainly, that goes to show that He is the perfect example of a perfect love. He could have just forsaken us long before but He didn’t. Now that’s perfect love!

And then I come to realize: If God was (and still is) willing to get hurt for the sake of loving us, shouldn’t we do the same thing? We don’t have to equal what God did for us. We just have to be able to sacrifice our own wants for the sake of the good of the others. Like God, who became human through Jesus Christ, we should be able to offer our best to other people even if it means hurting ourselves. After all, loving others is not a walk in the park. To truly love someone, it takes a lot of sacrifice and hard work.

By the time I came to my senses, I also came into a realization that God’s love is the perfect kind of love. And that a human being like me can also give that kind of love to my neighbor. It’s just a matter of sacrifice.

Kevin Balero is a graduating student from St. Peter the Apostle School. He is serving in our parish as a lector during the Sunday 10AM mass.