Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (3: 31-36) in which John the Baptist says to his followers he who comes from above is above all others.

Fr Paul says, it is interesting to note in our Gospel this morning that there are a whole lot of contrast opposites.  John talks about above and below. He talks about heaven and earth. He talks about acceptance and rejection.  He talks about belief and the refusal to believe. Writing in this way, using contrasting opposites, is very typical of John’s style of writing.

This Gospel also contains a warning and it is not the first one given. This warning revolves around the witness not being accepted. We find, like yesterday’s Gospel, that we have a choice. For those that do accept the witness they will be given without reserve the Spirit given by the Father.

The beautiful lesson of today’s Gospel is that God’s greatest desire is to hold us in a lifelong loving embrace but as Fr Paul mentions we must be the ones to choose, just like John the Baptist chose.

For our reflection today, Fr Paul invites us to reflect on this invitation and choice we make.