Of This World and Not of This World

If it seems to you at times that the Jesus of John’s Gospel speaks in riddles, you are not alone.  Translating is a difficult business.  Sometimes it is simply impossible to make the translation both correct and at the same time connote exactly what the original language conveys. 

Today’s Gospel passage has Jesus speaking to the Pharisees and claiming that while he comes from above, they are from below, that while he is not of this world, they are of this world.  It seems as if Jesus is saying that being part of this world is a bad thing.  Yet in chapter three of St. John’s Gospel he told us that God so loved the world that God sent His Son into the world.  At the end of the Gospels, Jesus sends his disciples into the world to preach the Good News.  How can the world be evil if God loved it?  Why would Jesus send his disciples into the world if it was evil?

St. John actually speaks of the world in two different ways.  Sometimes he speaks of the world as that which God created.  Remember that in the Book of Genesis, God looked at all of creation and declared that it was good.  However, sometimes St. John speaks of the world as those things that would pull us away or entice us away from God.  In that respect, it is not so good. 

Consequently, since we live in the world, it is important for us to distinguish between the good and the evil.  Discernment helps us to discover that which leads us toward God and that which entices us away from it.  In the case of the Pharisees, they were unable to accept what Jesus had to say because they were living with the preconceived notions of who and what the Messiah would be.  They were unable to let go of their own viewpoint and accept the words of Jesus. 

Notice also that at the end of the Gospel, many began to believe in Jesus because of his words.  This segment of the population was able to set aside their own way of looking at things.  As a result, the words of Jesus were able to penetrate their hearts and lead them to God.  Today we pray that we are among this group.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator