My dad was a gentle giant.  And he was a very good teacher both professionally and personally.  He guided my siblings and me through all kinds of life lessons from learning how to manage peer pressure, to riding a bike and using a sewing machine He also taught me how to use a power drill.  Dad could break down the most complex and frustrating lessons.  He trusted me to be able to do what I set out to do.

I am reminded of my dad’s steadfast approach as I read today’s Gospel from John.  These familiar words are simultaneously complex and simple:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.

We are reminded in this Easter season that God trusts us and wants us to be saved.   This is so easy and so attainable.  Yet this wonderful gift runs counter to an achievement oriented, work obsessed society.  Of course we have a responsibility to accept this gift and to always strive to live in the light.  The gospel has a chilling warning reminding us that we can prefer the darkness.  The renewal of Easter invites us to reject the evil temptations and live the truth and come to the light so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

Just as my dad taught me to take the big life lessons one step at a time, I feel renewed in my daily practice of prayer.  This Easter season I commit to being more present to others.  My daily Examen will help me embrace the consolations and sit with the desolations.  I pray that living in the light be just as easy as riding a bike.