First Reading: Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9

Our God is a God of second chances. The Jewish people were blessed with a divine covenant that they continually scorned. In rage and despair, Moses destroyed the first set of commandments when the people God led from slavery in Egypt put their faith in a golden calf. Ever constant, the Lord comes once more to bestow his infinite love on those he has chosen.


Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

The wandering Jewish exiles rebelled against the covenant and fought among themselves. Saint Paul urges the new Christians of Corinth to do exactly the opposite. Jesus has given them a new covenant that commands them to live in harmony with one another, to encourage one another and to love as God loves. The challenge for this new community and for all of us is to learn from the past, not repeat it.


Gospel Reading: John 3:16-18

The sacrifice of Christ is complex. It is difficult to see why God needed to send his Beloved Son to suffer and die in order to bring us back to him and even more difficult to see how it could possibly be effective. God’s attempt to reach out to us is an act of divine love that we cannot comprehend and cannot repay. Not only do we fail to repay him, but we continuously scorn and deride God in our lives. The playing field is not level and we are not God so we cannot redeem ourselves. In his infinite
mercy, God sends his only Son to take on our humanity and repay him with the ultimate sacrifice, his life, on our behalf.