"Everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Acts 5:17-26

 The High Priest and all his supporters,

That is the party of the Sadducees, became very jealous of the apostles;   so they arrested them and had them thrown into the public jail.   But an angel of the Lord opened the door of the prison during the night, brought them out, and said to them,   “Go and stand in the Temple court and tell the people the whole of this living message.”  Accordingly they entered the Temple at dawn and resumed their teaching.

When the High Priest and his supporters arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin, that is the full Council of the elders of Israel. They sent word to the jail to have the prisoners brought in.   But when the Temple guards arrived at the jail, they did not find them inside, so they returned with the news,   “We found the prison securely locked and the prison guards at their post outside the gate, but when we opened the gate, we found no one inside.”

Upon hearing these words, the captain of the Temple guard and the high priests were baffled, wondering where all of this would end.   Just then someone arrived with the report, “Look, those men whom you put in prison are standing in the Temple, teaching the people.”   Then the captain went off with the guards and brought them back, but without any show of force, for fear of being stoned by the people.

 

Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊ 

John 3:16-21

Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

 This is how Judgment is made: Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For whoever does wrong hates the light, and doesn't come to the light, for fear that his deeds will be seen as evil. But whoever lives according to the truth comes into the light, so that it can be clearly seen that his works have been done in God."

     

Gospel Reflection：

God Who Gives

 "Give" is a verb that occurs 63 times in the Fourth Gospel, and hence, is a key theme for John. God is one who gives. The chosen people of Israel looked forward to God giving them the promised land. They also received from God the Torah. But here Jesus speaks of God giving them the highest gift possible – his very Son, and through him, eternal life.

If the land and the Torah were specifically given to a circumscribed group of people, God gives his Son for the entire world so that no one is left out of his embrace. Moreover, this giving also meant a "giving up" of his Son all the way to death. At the end of it all, God does so, out of great love, to redeem the world and never to condemn it. Yet, why do we still choose to live in fear of God rather than run into His embrace?