Fourth Sunday of Lent B

Image: The Romanesque crucifix 
hanging in the Fuentiduena Chapel
in The Cloisters, NYC. 
Photo by Rick Morley.

March 15, 2015

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I have a confession to make: I don't much care for today's gospel reading; in fact, deep down, sometimes I don't like it at all.

You know, John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life."

Luther once said, this verse is "the gospel in a nutshell."

However, there is something troubling, even scandalous at the heart of this beloved verse.

Notice that God doesn't ask our opinion about all this first.

God doesn't ask our permission.

God doesn't even consult us.

God, in fact, brooks no objection but just goes ahead and gives the Son over to die...for us.

Do you see what I mean?

Part of me is incredibly grateful and part of me pretty indignant.

I mean, how dare God!

How dare God sacrifice so much for us and by doing so have such a claim on us!

It's not just scandalous but, if you think about it, even offensive, as it leaves absolutely no room for our hopes and plans, our wants or desires.

It leaves us, that is, completely out of control.

Some years ago I preached a sermon when I compared this verse--the giving of the Son without our consent or consultation-to the scandal of infant Baptism.

After all, we similarly bring young children to the baptismal font before they can offer their consent and simply immerse them in God's love.

How offensive, some might say, that we don't wait until they are "of age" and can decide for themselves.

But that's the heart of infant Baptism, when you think of it:

God just plain adopts us, makes us God's own, and pledges to be both with us and for us forever.

           All this whether we are ready, interested, or eager to receive it or not! For this reason, I went on, perhaps we should add four words to our service of Baptism to highlight the scandalous, even       offensive, nature of the sacrament: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...like it or not"

A week or two after I preached this sermon, Tom, a member of our parish, told me a story.         

Several nights earlier, Tom's six year-old son, Benjamin got upset when told “it’s time for bed.”

Frustrated by his father's refusal to budge, Benjamin finally became so frustrated that he said, "Daddy, I hate you!"

Tom, possessing the presence of mind I wish I more frequently had replied, "I'm sorry you feel that way, Ben, but I love you."

And then what do you think Benjamin said? "Oh, it's okay." Or maybe, "Sorry, Dad. I love you, too."

Nope.

When Tom told his son that he loved him, Benjamin yelled back, "Don't say that!"

Surprised, Tom continued, "But, Ben, b1i it's true--I love you." "Don't say that, Daddy."

"But I love you, Ben."

"Stop saying that, Daddy! Stop saying it right now!"

And then it came, Tom reported, almost completely unbidden:

"Benjamin, now listen to me: I love you...like it or not!"

Even at six years old, you see, Benjamin realized that in the face of unconditional love he was powerless.

If Tom had been willing to negotiate--"I'll love you if you go to bed nicely"--then Benjamin would have been a player:

"Okay, this time, but I'm not eating my vegetables at dinner tomorrow."

But once Tom refused to negotiate, refused to make his love for his son conditional on something Benjamin did, then Ben could do nothing but accept or flee that love.

The same is true with us.

If God makes God's great love for the world and us conditional, then we, suddenly, have tremendous power.

We can negotiate.

We can threaten to reject God's love.

We can even tell God to go take a hike if we don't care for God's terms.

But when God just loves us--completely and unconditionally--and when God just goes and dies for us, well then the jig is up; there's just nothing we can do to influence God.

And that's just what happens in this verse.

Listen to it once more: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed,

God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

And there it is, in a nutshell:

God in Jesus has made God's decision...and it is for us.

Yes, we can run.

But we can't change the fact that God loves us, that God in fact loves the whole world more than we can imagine.

And so no wonder this is the world's most popular Bible verse, because it is, indeed, good news, even the best news.

But first it's hard.

Hard because we're not in control.

Hard because it's not up to us.

Hard because every time we hear how much God loves us we also know that we had nothing to do with it, cannot influence it, and therefore are out control.

And, sometimes, that can make us afraid.