Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
Today's Gospel passage from the Gospel of St. John reminds us of the last line of this past Sunday's Gospel: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31) St. John's Gospel has this motif throughout, from the very first chapter until the last. The Gospel is primarily written to help us come to belief, to faith. We come to faith through hearing the Gospel proclaimed.
In the prologue of the Gospel, the sacred writer reminds us that Jesus came among his own, but his own rejected him. (John 1:11) However, he follows that statement with another that sets the theme for us: But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name . . . (John 1:12)
Today's passage comes from chapter three: 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) Failure to believe in Jesus is, in John's opinion, the ultimate sin. Failure to preach the Good News is also sin in John's mind, because it is only through hearing the Gospel that people will come to faith. This is why, in today's passage from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter and the Apostles maintain that they cannot obey the command of the Sanhedrin to cease their preaching activity.
The world and its people still need to hear the Gospel to come to faith in Jesus. For most of us, the preaching must come through the example of our lives, lives of humble service and surrender to the Will of God.