“I have come in order that you might have life –
life in all its fullness.” (Jn 10:10)
Today’s Passages: Jn 10:1-10; Act 11:1-18
Meditation: Today’s mediation verse is really a gift from God our
loving father and calls you and me personally for a particular mission. It is
apparently connected with the salvific mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. In
order to understand this we have to go back to the first chapters of the Book
of Genesis. There we read that the Garden of Eden was given to Adam with a
specific mission as “to cultivate and guard it.” (Gen 2:15) Of course, he was
not simply given a zero balance account as we read in the second chapter.
The narrative goes like this: “God made all kinds
of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the
garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what
is good and what is bad.” (Gen 2:9) How beautiful and worth-living the Garden
of Eden is! In the second instance we find that God is giving to Adam a fitting
and perfect life-partner: Eve. As the narrative progress we find Satan the
intruder comes to the life of man in the form of a serpent.
Serpent the tempter deceived man through eternal
lies. Man lost appreciation for God the creator and his commandments and
promises. As a result, he failed to respond to God’s love faithfully and was
thrown out of the Garden. “The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and
destroy.” (Jn 10:10) From there on what we find is God’s continuous and loving
chase after man as to redeem him from the clutches of sin.
In the fourth gospel we read, “For God loved the
world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
may not die but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) In his letter John will explain
it more clearly and say, “This is what love is: it is not that we have loved
God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins
are forgiven.” (1 Jn 4:10) From this we know for sure that out of his love only
God created, promised, provided and redeemed everything and everyone.
It is against this background we can read and
reflect on today’s meditation verse, “I have come in order that you might have
life – life in all its fullness.” (Jn 10:10) It is God’s will that we might
have life in its abundance. However, Satan doesn’t want the same and moreover,
tries to misguide man through eternal lies. Eventually, man becomes slave of
Satan and sin. St. Paul says, “For sin pays its wage – death; but God’s free
gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23)
In the second reading we find that the Gentiles too
are given abundantly the gift of the Holy Spirit and the church rejoices over
this gratuitous gift: “God gave those
Gentiles the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ.” (Acts 11:17) Let us also proclaim this abundance of love and life in
and through our lives. Let us not become robbers but the good shepherds in the
life of our brethren.
The word of the Lord says, “Today I am giving you a
choice between good and evil; between life and death. If you obey the
commandments of the Lord your God, which I give you today, if you love him,
obey him, and keep all his laws, then you will prosper and become a nation of
many people.” (Dt 30:15) It is to me, after knowing God and Satan, the Good
Shepherd and the robber; to decide whom should I follow.
Prayer: Lord God, we
thank you and praise you for your daily eternal bread. How true it is that man is
often cheated and destroyed by robber, the Satan. However, he is not coming to
Jesus the good shepherd who lays down his life for him and be saved. Lord, have
mercy on us sinners. Let us pray in a special way today for all those who are
under the influence of sin and Satan the liar. We ask for this
grace through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Greetings: God is with you! Wish you a blessed and fruitful Easter
Monday!
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