3:16-ish
Since this article is being published in our March 16 bulletin, I thought I’d share something kind of interesting (at least it is to me) about the Bible. Many years ago, I noticed that a lot of the verses revealing something key about who God is can be found at/around chapter three, verse sixteen-ish. I say “sixteen-ish” because it’s not exact, but it’s a good place to start, and it’s not every book of Scripture, but it is common enough that it’s a curiosity to me. We need to re member that the Bible wasn’t written with chapters and verses originally. Chapter breaks were added around the 13th century and verse numbers were inserted in the 16th century, so this is all coincidental, but it makes it easy for me to remember where to find some of the key points in the salvation story, so I thought I’d share a few of those verses here.
Most of us know the famous verse, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,” and for good reason. What does it reveal to us about who God is? God loves us. In fact, God loves us to the extreme of giving us His Son so that we, who believe in Him, “might not perish but might have eternal life.” We’ve heard and read this line so many times that we might look past it. We’ve gotten so used to hearing it that this amazing statement goes in one ear and out the other without us catching the enormity of it. But imagine how stunning this was for those who heard it for the first time. A downtrodden people that had been invaded and subjugated for centuries by seemingly endless enemies to hear that their God has heard their cry and sent His Son to offer them life… Fr. John Riccardo describes this as a young person living in a house filled with neglect and abuse who sees the neighbor’s home, filled with love and support, and then the neighbor comes and asks the young person if they would like to live with them. Wouldn’t you simply break down in tears and run to your new home? This is what is described in the Gospel of John. An invitation to a new home filled with love. This is our God.
Another great example of God’s plan revealed around 3:16-ish can be found in Genesis, actually at Gen 3:15. There we hear what is historically called the protoevangelium (the first good news), “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel.” Since the early second century this has been seen as the first promise of a savior (Irenaeus of Lyons, in his Against Heresies). Here, in the very first book of Scripture, we learn something vitally important about who God is: forgiving and merciful. Adam and Eve have just committed the Original Sin, severing their relationship with God and bringing death into the world. God tells them the consequences of their actions, but He follows up that bad news with the incredible news that He will offer us mercy, that in the end the serpent will be crushed. We will be saved.
One of my favorites is found in Exodus 3:14 where God and Moses have a little conversation via a burning bush. Moses asks God what His name is and the shocking thing is that He answers! “God replied…This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” Why is this so shocking? God reveals His name, “I AM,” or “Yahweh” in Hebrew. To ancient people names are power. They tell you something about the person, their character and mission, but they also place them on a level playing surface so to-speak. By sharing His name with Moses, God is giving him – and us – the ability to talk to Him as a friend. In some ways we still recognize the power of this today. When our kids were young, they were not permitted to call non-family adults by their first name because it’s disrespectful. Similarly, most of us don’t call our doctor by their first name, or our priest for that matter. We understand that the use of a name puts us on common ground and so we need permission from the other person before using a name that way. Here, in Exodus, God gives that permission. He trusts Moses, and us, to use His name with respect and dignity by sharing it with us. Amazing!
One final one for today comes from the Gospel of Matthew, “After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with
whom I am well pleased.’” (Mt 3:16-17) The whole Trinity shows up in this moment and the Father tells us exactly who Jesus is, and in so doing tells us who we are called to be by virtue of our own Baptism. God is our Father and we are His children; He is pleased with us. He is pleased with me. Amen.