God on the Offensive—His Greatest Act of Love (John 3:16)
By Kerry McGuire
In another LOVING STONES blog post, I compared players on a college football team to parishioners in a Church and how important it is to have dedicated people with hearts committed to the cause and helping out the team however needed. Big parts, small parts, just-the-right-fit parts—they all matter and determine the outcome.
In a parish setting, the most important part is the state of the heart of those willing to serve as disciples and apostles of Christ, however they care called to build up the Kingdom of Love.
In that same blog, I wrote about how God is like an offensive coach, “who sent his only son to die for us and redeem us from our sins”. This reference to a popular scripture passage has been found at many sporting and large group events, easily recognizable my many.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)
While I have seen this familiar passage many times, lately it has appeared to me in more personal ways—in my prayer time, readings at Mass, spiritual reading, and conversations with others, including my spiritual director.
I have been asking myself for weeks, why is God telling me to think more deeply about John 3:16? It keeps coming to the forefront of my mind, but why now?
I believe it has to do with my work in forming the new LOVING STONES lay apostolate with my fellow “teammates”, brothers and sisters in Christ that are committed to renewing our parish homes.
You can read more about THE WAY of LOVING STONES on our new website, but our ministry’s goal is to equip parish leaders with ways to make disciples and send apostles to bring Jesus to others—those in the pews, those that used to be in the pews, and those that haven’t met Jesus before and really need an introduction.
It takes a team of apostles or LOVING STONES to do this. Let’s take another look at John 3:16:
God loves the world (us) so much, that he gave his one and only Son (Jesus) so that all who believe (the faithful) can have everlasting life. He gave us the gift of our Savior & King, and we are to share this Good News with others!
As his apostles or LOVING STONES, we are called to announce this greatest love story ever told in John 3:16! We are to proclaim Jesus in the Spirit of Love, as individual Christians, and collectively as Church to bring others closer to him through an encounter with God’s love.
Truly, as Christians representing Jesus, what we say, think, and do matters. What others experience with us is how they are going to perceive Jesus, thus God. They will either grow closer to him, stay exactly the same, or move farther away.
We must be aware of what message we are proclaiming, conveying to them, because this reveals what is truly in our hearts.
Are we acting as servants of Christ with a loving, willing heart or are we more concerned about our own needs and wants like those of this world?
What path are we choosing to walk? Wherever we are headed, others will follow. Let’s choose the path to love, to holiness, and righteousness, THE WAY Jesus walked.
That’s what it means to be apostolic minded, to work together in community as LOVING STONES to lead others to him.
So, how do we “walk the talk” in this game of life as LOVING STONES and proclaim Jesus in the Spirit of Love to others?
First, we each are called to publicly witness to our faith by sharing the Gospel truth about Christ and how our lives have been personally impacted by this great act of love.
The Good News of Christ must be passed on to others, handed down through the generations, to make it grow and spread. It begins with our families, faith communities, neighborhoods, workplaces, and wherever we go in our day to day.
As St. Luke the Evangelist wrote in the Acts of the Apostles:
“And he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:42-43; emphasis added)
Notice the use of the words “commanded” (meaning, not optional), “preach to the people” (publicly proclaim to all we encounter individually and as Church in our parishes and beyond), and ”testify” and “bear witness” (boldly express our belief in God’s one and only son that came to save the whole world and what he has personally done for us). Which leads us right back to John 3:16. Don’t you love it when God does that?!?
Again, we are called to publicly proclaim Jesus, the Good News, to others through our words and example.
So, what does it look like when a parish proclaims Jesus? How do we build up the Kingdom of God on a strong foundation of Christ’s love at every level of parish life?
An apostolic-minded leader will ensure that the Spirit of Love permeates every heart, nook and cranny of the Church.
As LOVING STONES, this means we incorporate the 4 Spirit-filled Values (i.e. prayer, welcoming, encouragement, and generosity) into the following areas or cornerstones of ministry life:
Love for God through worship and sacraments, where God loves us back by healing and nourishing us to fulfill our mission for the world.
Love for others through service ministries offering works of mercy and an encounter with God’s love.
Spiritual-growth ministries offering opportunities for renewal in Christ’s love, which may lead to life-long conversion, discipleship, and apostleship as we grow closer to him.
Proclaiming Jesus through verbal and non-verbal communication, which allows others to publicly witness how the truth is lived in love, freely given to us by God.
This means that at all levels of parish life are immersed in Christ’s love through our words and deeds. This is how a parish comes fully alive as LOVING STONES.
In the words of a LOVING STONES apostolate founder, Gary Thome, this is what the greater context of proclaiming Christ parish-wide would look like:
Imagine if all parish communications, every homily, and all catechesis made the absolutely bold and absurd—yet completely true—assertion that we found the solution to EVERY social ill.
And, that we found it in a person—a savior—Jesus Christ!
When reading the Gospel, that is what I believe we are being challenged to do. Do we believe it? I do. Maybe not everyone does.
We may think a politician will save us. Or we will be saved through eating healthy, a good education, cleaning up the environment, personal freedoms, etc.
In the Gospel of John, Andrew “first found his brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ)." (Jn 1:42).
Isn't that message worth shouting from the rooftops, the websites, and the classrooms? We have found the savior! We have found the solution to all our problems! Rejoice and be glad! Hallelujah!
To sum up what being a part of the LOVING STONES team is all about to build up the Kingdom in our parishes:
Through Sacramental worship and service, spiritual-growth, and Jesus “proclamation” ministries, we publicly announce the Good News of in the Spirit of Love through 4 Spirit-filled Values of prayerful, welcoming, encouraging, and generosity.
Could it be that simple? To give others an encounter with God’s love just by being compassionate and bold enough to openly talk and show by example who we know Christ to be—what he came to do, what he did for us personally, and what he can do for the person or group we are talking to?
Like Gary said, I believe so. It’s something that we can make so complicated, but the message to convey is really that simple: Jesus Christ is our Savior and King that God sent to redeem the whole world through his love and mercy.
The key is the state of our hearts as we preach the Gospel message—how well we convey that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. (Jn 4:6)
Indeed, let us rejoice and be glad! Hallelujah, hallelujah!