WEDNESDAY IN EASTER 2

April 15, 2026

Parish of All Saints, Ashmont, Boston

 

John 3:16-21

 

 “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light …”

 

The word “judgment” in this verse translates the Greek krisis, from which we get the English word “crisis.” In contemporary English, the word crisis generally signifies a period of instability or danger; a time when the circumstances of personal, social, economic, or political life are in upheaval, and the future is uncertain.

 

However, the more precise etymological meaning of crisis is a situation calling for a decision, in which the possible courses of action chosen will shape the future in profoundly different ways. For example, there came a day in my twenties when I had to choose between staying in my job and going to seminary. That was a moment of crisis—an occasion of unavoidable decision when I had to choose between alternative paths that would lead irrevocably in very different directions.

 

In a Greek lexicon, krisis is variously translated as separation, sundering, trial, contest, selection, or judgment. And so our Lord says in today’s Gospel: “This is the krisis, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness more than light …”

 

The point is that, as our Lord also says in today’s Gospel, he came into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. But his coming into the world nevertheless creates a moment of crisis, krisis, for all who encounter him.

 

Confronted with the reality of the risen Lord, and the claim he makes upon our lives, we cannot escape the decision to accept or reject him, to follow him or to go our own way, to come into the light or to retreat into the darkness. This is the crisis: not that he judges us, but that, in our responses to him, we judge ourselves. When we stand before the divine tribunal on the Last Day, no new judgment will be rendered. The divine judge will simply ratify the choices that we’ve already made for ourselves during our earthly lives.

 

We all experience moments of crisis in our lives—and we tend to think of crises as unpleasant events. An old cliché holds that in the Chinese system of writing, the symbol for crisis combines the symbols for danger and opportunity. Apparently, that’s not entirely accurate and oversimplifies the matter. (I wouldn’t know.) Nonetheless, the good news is that every new day, every new situation we encounter, every new person we meet, presents an opportunity to say yes to God and to come into the light. And if we ask him, God will grant us the grace to make the right choices in precisely those moments.