Franciscan Friar Fr. Paul Gallagher reflects on the Gospel readings for the Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time. When you look back on your life, can you identify ways that others sacrificed/suffered for you?
The content is edited by Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Anne Marie Lom and Joe Thiel. The excerpts from the Sunday readings are prepared by Joe Thiel. To read or download the complete pdf with excerpts for your prayer, please click here: Franciscan Gospel Reflection September 14 2025. Excerpts are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Photos: Jules & Jenny from Lincoln, UK, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
John 3:13-17
Jesus said to Nicodemus: No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
Background:
The Gospel reading for this feast, The Exaltation of the Cross, replaces Luke 25:1-32, which is the Gospel reading for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time in year C of the liturgical cycle. It can be helpful to read that Gospel text as a way to appreciate how Luke unfolds his Gospel and to prepare for the 26th Sunday when the church will reflect on Luke 16:1-13, the story of the steward who was reported for squandering his master’s wealth.
In the first verses of this chapter, John states that Jesus was teaching about the nature of the Son of Man and that Nicodemus was coming to Jesus at night to hear his instruction. Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a leader of the Jewish community, is treating Jesus with the respect of a Rabbi. John does not indicate why Nicodemus comes at night, but it is widely suspected that he wants to keep his conversation with Jesus a secret.
Jesus refers to an event in the Israelite history during their wandering in the desert, when the people became weary and complained against God and Moses. The Lord punished them by sending snakes that bit and killed many. Moses sought forgiveness from God and was instructed to make a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole. God promised that any who looked on the bronze serpent would be healed (Numbers 21:4-9).
Like the pole that was used to raise the bronze serpent, the cross is used to raise the crucified body of Christ. Looking on the bronze serpent gave life in the desert, now the body of Christ on the cross gives eternal life.
Jesus’ teaching emphasizes the depth of God’s love. First, God is willing to offer his own Son. God holds nothing back in his expression of love. Second, God lifts His Son on the cross to bring life to the world. The kind of relationship that is being described to Nicodemus takes God’s relationship beyond anything the Jews of their day could have imagined. But it also throws into jeopardy the kind of exclusive relationship the Jews believed that they had with God.
Reflection Questions:
- Have you ever had to hide your faith, or even an important relationship? What was that like?
- When you look back on your life, can you identify ways that others sacrificed/suffered for you?
- Are there some questions you would like to ask Jesus quietly and in secret?
- When you hear the last line of this text: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him,” do you think of the “world” as all who believe in God, all good people, all people, or all creation?
- Have you ever been challenged to love someone who rejected you or damaged your reputation?
- How is this reading helping and/or challenging you as you celebrate this feast?
- Can you take some time to talk with God about this feast, or the Gospel, or something that has moved within you as you have reflected here?
The post Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2025 Franciscan Gospel Reflection appeared first on Franciscan Sisters.