For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…not…to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (JN 3:16)
What is the meaning and identity of the only son? Is it only Jesus? Jesus calls himself the son of man in the synoptic gospels 70 different times (MacKensie, Dictionary of the Bible) and in Matthew’s gospel when he answers the high priest addressing himself as the Son of man, Jesus is accused of blasphemy the crowd hears it and their response is he deserves death.
Jesus says
“I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry no one who believes in me shall ever thirst.” (JN 6:35)
When I put together the two identities Jesus gives us of Himself as 1) The Son of Man and 2) The Bread of Life, I can only conclude that Jesus is telling us He is everyman, or to put it another way, we are all one. Plugging into that reality (truth) is salvation. Loving your neighbor as yourself is self-preservation.
We are a community of laymen and laywomen who, with vowed Passionists, seek to share in the charism of St. Paul of the Cross through prayer, ongoing spiritual formation, and proclamation of the message of Christ Crucified.
Thank you Dave.