Jesus cried out and said ,“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”
REFLECTION
“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 162, faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. St Paul said we can lose this priceless gift. To live, grow, and persevere in the faith, until the end, we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be "working through charity," abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church.
In # 166, faith is a personal act--the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals Himself.....The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. We have through friends and family, the Scriptures, the holy and devout priests and God's revelations come to know Him.
Jesus came to save and not condemn. People condemn themselves by their failure of observing His Word, His commandments. The Father's commandment is eternal life. Jesus, in loving obedience, does the Father's work saving mankind from sin and hell. With His Resurrection, He draws all of us to the bosom of His Father in divine love, which is the ultimate commandment. It is the Word spoken who will condemn as it came from His Father.
