Third Sunday of Easter
But if anyone does sin,
we have an Advocate
with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only
but for those of the whole world.
1 John 2:1-2
There is cause for 50 days of rejoicing here: Jesus died and rose again. For you, For me. And that is why the Easter Season is longer than the Lenten season. Can we dwell in this for a few more weeks? I think we can, and we should.
What am I dwelling on? It is the reality of the Father’s Love for me, in and through Jesus.
One of the reasons that Jesus came to earth is to show us the Father’s love; he is the Gift of the Father to us. He shows us the face of the Father who yearns for us. For the Father loved us so much, while we were yet sinners, to bring us back to him.
Here’s the crux of that love: Jesus is expiation for our sins. He atoned for us. That is why he is our Savior and Redeemer. Elsewhere in this same epistle from St. John we read: “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”
The entire First Epistle of John is worthy reading. We read some of it last Sunday, we’re reading this Sunday and we’ll be in it for the next Sundays. Go on, read ahead, and take it all in.
Jesus, draw me deeper into knowledge and acceptance of the Father’s love and goodness.
