Jesus Week - Day 3 - The Now Word

At a time when you did not know God,
you became slaves to things
that by nature are not gods…
(Galatians 4:8)

Jesus, Liberator

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Before all things both visible and invisible existed, God was — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Their shared love, joy, and happiness was limitless and without defect. But precisely because the nature of Love is to give Itself, it was their Will to share this with others. That meant creating others in their likeness with the capacity to share in their divine nature.^[1]cf. 2 Pet 1:4 So God spoke: “Let there be light”… and from this word, the entire universe teeming with life came into being; each plant, creature, and heavenly object revealing something of God’s divine attributes of wisdom, kindness, providence, and so forth.^[2]cf. Rom 1:20; Wis 13:1-9 But the very pinnacle of creation would be man and woman, the ones created to participate directly in the interior life of love the Holy Trinity.

God created mankind in His image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)

While the fish of the sea, birds of the air, and creatures of the land harmonized with the Creator out of instinct, man and woman were created with a free will in order to freely choose to love and be loved. But that also entailed the capacity to reject love.

And we know the rest of the story… Adam and Eve, tempted to place trust in themselves rather than God, fell from grace and communion with Him. They separated themselves from the eternal life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and from there, human history tells another story: one of discord, suffering, and slavery to sin. Instead of love, joy, and happiness, man would find himself frequently in the state of division, sadness, and restlessness… seeking fulfilment in created things rather than the Creator. This led to selfish ambitions, jealousy, and ultimately violence.

But God, who is love, refused to abandon His creation. And this is where human history takes the most astonishing turn:

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. (John 3:16-17)

To Set us Free

No matter who is reading or listening to this, no matter your culture, your past, your religious affiliation or lack thereof, Jesus came for you. And why? As He said,

…everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. (John 8:34)

I don’t need a theological degree to understand this. I just need the experience of living. I know His word is true because I know what it’s like to be a slave to sin: to lust, to gluttony, to material things, and so on. I know what it’s like to be in tension with others: division, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and what it does to families and friends. I know what it’s like to depend upon myself, to try to control everything around me, and the chaos and disappointment this brings. I know that Jesus’s words are true: everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin because I see it all around and even at times within me.

But I also know what it’s like to experience authentic freedom — freedom from the power of sin and death. Because that’s what sin is: it’s a death of joy, peace, and happiness. As St. Paul said,

What profit did you get then from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death… For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:21, 23)

Jesus is offering us the very gift that Adam and Eve forfeited: admittance again into the eternal interior life of the Holy Trinity! Jesus is literally extending to us God’s friendship, even though none of us deserves it. It’s a completely free gift for no other reason than He loves us.

God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

He died for us because there was no human way to repair a divine problem. We can no more build a tower to heaven than we can restore divine friendship. But God did. Jesus became man. He became like us so that He could build a bridge for humans back to the heart of the Holy Trinity. Since God cannot unite to himself the slightest impurity contrary to His nature, Jesus shed His blood as a means to cleanse us of all sin, as a means of making reparation on our behalf for our rebellion.

The way to receive this free gift of God’s friendship, which is eternal life itself, is to accept this gift on His gracious terms:

Repent, and believe in the gospel. (Mark 1:15)

The Choice

Jesus asks us to turn away from everything that is not love and return to Him. I say “return” because all of us are part of the human race that departed from God; all of us carry that “original sin” — until we let Jesus remove it from us through Baptism, the sacrament that restores us to friendship with God. Therefore, the only condition to receive this free gift is our free will choice to reject sin, to “confess” it openly before God (and ultimately to His representatives whom He gave authority to forgive sin. See John 20:22-23).

Jesus also asks us to “believe in the gospel.” The word gospel is from the Greek evangelion, which means “good news.” The good news is that Jesus is not only here to save and liberate you and me from the power of sin, but to sanctify and make us holy. Holiness is simply the restoration of the love, joy, and happiness that our first parents forfeited; it is a restoration of the Divine Will that Adam once possessed but exchanged for his own measly will, his own tiny plan that was doomed to failure. Thus, Jesus said:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

Believing in the gospel does not mean merely an intellectual acceptance that Jesus said nice things. It means denying ourselves and following Him along the way of love in obedience to the truth that leads to life. It leads to authentic freedom.

If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32)

Those who put their faith in Jesus, who turn away from sin and begin to listen to His Word and obey, will discover for themselves how much He loves them.

He is found by those who do not test Him, and manifests Himself to those who do not disbelieve Him. (Wisdom 1:2)

I know this is true, not only because millions before me experienced the life and presence of Jesus so intensely that they were willing to die for Him, but because I have encountered Jesus myself. I know what it’s like to be a slave, and I know what it’s like to be free. And the only thing, rather, the only One who has made a difference in my life is Jesus. O, the wonder of knowing that I am loved, that I am forgiven despite what I’ve done and failed to do; that I am taken back into God’s fold as a son is an indescribable gift and grace. Jesus Christ has changed my life; He has forgiven me a thousand times; He has healed my wounded heart and continues to heal it.

I am also aware that this free gift of His love is something I can forfeit at any time, like Adam and Eve. As St. Paul said:

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

I invite you, whoever you are, whether you’re already a Christian or whether you have never opened your heart to Christ, to make or renew a decision to become His follower today. As St. Paul said, “now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”^[3]2 Corinthians 6:2 It’s the most important decision you could ever make. For yes, God so loved the world that He sent Jesus, not to condemn, but liberate us. But Jesus also said,

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. (John 3:36)

The “wrath” of God simply means His justice and the inevitable separation from Him that began with Adam and Eve’s sin, that continues to this day, and will last for all eternity for those who refuse friendship with Him. Heaven and Hell exist, and Jesus “wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth”^[4]1 Timothy 2:4 so that no one is eternally separated from Him.

God in the beginning created human beings and made them subject to their own free choice. If you choose, you can keep the commandments; loyalty is doing the will of God. Set before you are fire and water; to whatever you choose, stretch out your hand. Before everyone are life and death, whichever they choose will be given them. (Sirach 15:14-17)

It’s your choice, and yours alone to make. Yes, the wages of sin is death — but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that He is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with You. I need You. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to Him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking His mercy… With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, He makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than His life, which impels us onwards! —Evangelii Gaudium, n. 3