Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

“God so loved the world that he sent his only son, that whoever
believes in Him may have eternal life.” John 3:16

Most evenings I get home from work so late that I find myself eating dinner alone! For company, I have taken to reading the comics in the daily newspaper. My husband teases me that comics are for kids! Not so. There are at times great messages to be found there! One of my favorites is Peanuts by the late artist Charles Schulz. During the Christmas holidays there was one especially cute one – in the first frame Snoopy was standing shivering next to his doghouse in the snow. In the second frame, Charlie Brown and Linus came by all bundled up in their coats, hats and scarves. When they saw Snoopy there freezing, Linus patted his head and said: “Be of good cheer, Snoopy.” And Charlie also said: “Yes, be of good cheer.” They walked off together and the final frame shows Snoopy (with a question mark over his head), still freezing, outside in the cold.

The message is simple, but quite clear. The tragedy wasn’t their lack of compassion but their lack of action. They didn’t do anything. Well-wishers are one thing, but actions speak louder than words. No doubt the writer of John 3:16 would agree. Let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love, the kind of love made visible in the life of Jesus Christ. Love became visible as Jesus walked the village streets preaching the good news to the poor; visible in the healing of lepers; visible in the casting out of demons; visible in feeding the hungry, visible in his acceptance of the outcast; visible as he willingly gave his life to demonstrate the depth and power of God’s love.

If the author of John felt compelled to write a letter reminding his community to put love into practice, it was more than likely because they had lost their focus and had forgotten what they were called to be and do. The message Jesus came to bring and the truth he came to proclaim is less about where we will spend life after we leave this earthly existence and much more about the quality of life we create here and now.

Millie Martin