Just to put this gospel in context. In that gospel passage from John, Jesus addresses his words directly to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a prominent Jew, a Pharisee, a member of the ruling Council, the Sanhedrin and a Rabbi. John has already told us that Nicodemus visited the Lord by night for fear of the Jews. The opposition to Jesus had become so widespread that a prominent Jew could only visit him under the cover of darkness. To this man, and in this context, Jesus says: "Though the light has come into the world, men have shown that they prefer darkness. The man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God." Nicodemus, diffident, doubtful and fearful, moves in a world of shadows. Insecure in his high position in the Jewish world, he is curious about this man Jesus. But curiosity falls far short of commitment. He is unable to throw in his lot with Jesus.
John was writing his gospel towards the end of the first century, probably around 90 AD. He was addressing a particular problem. John was leader of a twilight community, a community caught between Judaism and this new emerging religion. In fact it was not at all clear at this stage how the future would develop. Was christianity a new branch on the old tree of Judaism, or would it cut loose from Judaism and take on a life of its own? In these circumstances then, it is understandable that many of his community kept a foot in both camps. They lived double lives. They hedged their bets. They continued to practice the Jewish religion officially; they went to the Synagogue every day for prayer and worship. But they celebrated the christian Eucharist secretly, behind closed doors. John's Church had a real dilemma. If Nicodemus for example was exposed as a Christian he would lose his seat on the Sanhedrin. This is the dilemma John was addressing. Many early Christians hadn't sufficient confidence in their new religion to declare their hand openly.
But John himself was convinced that there was something unique, something entirely new in Christianity. And that something was, of course, the Son of God, the word of God made flesh. In order to shore up the confidence of the young community, John stresses the generosity of God revealed in Jesus."God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." The Jewish audience would readily recognise the implications of this claim. In Jewish patriarchal tradition, the eldest son inherited all. He succeeded his father as head of the family. But in the case of an only son, the entire family line depended on him. In other words, because of his great love for the world, God risked his entire future. He held the world and humanity in such esteem that he regarded them as being worthy of this gamble. John's case seems to have been: "Look, in the circumstances where God risked all; can men like Nicodemus continue to sit on the fence. He sent his son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through him."
In our second reading, Paul reiterates this same message: "God loved us with so much love that, when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ." Then, in one of the most reassuring and encouraging line in the entire scriptures, Paul goes on to say: "You are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as he had meant you to live it." The power of the work of art rests in the fact that it faithfully reflects the artistic genius of it creator.It is unique to him or her. It is not just a new view of reality; it is a new reality. And every work of that artist reflects another aspect of the artist's mind and genius. In the same way, according to St. Paul, every human being offers us a unique insight into the genius of the creator God. The creature faithfully reflects the creator. Every human being then, according to Paul, gives a unique insight into the mind and heart of God. This has obvious implications for the way we treat each other, and for the manner in which God deals with us, his creatures, his works of art.
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