Some Bible texts are clear and rather easy to understand; others are more difficult to interpret.
Even Peter, the apostle, said that some of the words in the letters of Paul were not easy to grasp and were sometimes misinterpreted (2 Peter 3:15-16).
The text of the 2nd reading of today’s celebration could be seen as one of those whose meaning must be looked at carefully.
But once we have teased out the deeper meaning, we are truly rewarded with what is revealed to us.
Writing to the Corinthians, Paul tells them (2 Corinthians 5:17-21):
“God, in Christ, was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them.”
In other words, God was bringing us all back into friendship with him – this is what reconciling is about.
Our relationship with God is made new, he no longer keeps our faults in mind.
Paul stresses the fact: “It is all God’s work.”
The apostle uses even stronger words, as he says:
“For our sake, God made the sinless one into sin,
so that in him we might become the goodness of God.«
It is absolutely astonishing!
“The sinless one”, Christ, the Beloved of the Father, is taking upon himself all that would take us away from God.
In him, we are freed from our guilt to the point of “becoming the goodness of God.”
We do not need to put on some show of goodness, struggling to appear good – we are made good.
We become imbued with God’s own goodness.
Again, “It is all God’s work.”
Only one thing is required from us… to accept this work of God in us.
Paul encourages the Corinthians to do so:
“The appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled with God.”
Accepting him into our lives, him and all that he offers us, all that he wants to bless us with, day after day.
Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/4e-dimanche-du-careme-annee-c-2025/
Source: Images: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Paul-the-Apostle
https://www.scripture-images.com/bible-books-chapters/web/2-corinthians-5-web.php