Gospel (Jn 3,31-36) - He who comes from above is above all; but he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks according to the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony from him. Whoever accepts the testimony confirms that God is truthful. For he whom God sent speaks the words of God: without measure he gives the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The evangelical passage reiterates the centrality of faith in Jesus for the believer. Hence the invitation to lift our gaze from the things of the earth, from the inveterate habits, from the obvious religious beliefs in order to contemplate Jesus. We too receive this invitation today. And we need it. In fact, how many times do we settle into a banal and lazy life and resign ourselves to a world without a future of hope for ourselves and others! The evangelist urges us to direct our gaze towards Jesus: he "comes from above, from heaven" and "is above all". Jesus is the true hope for us and for the world. He came down from heaven to be next to us and communicate to us the life he lives in a unique way with the Father in heaven: "He - it is perhaps the Baptist who speaks to his followers - attests to what he has seen and heard". Jesus came to earth to reveal the very mystery of God which otherwise would have remained impenetrable. He therefore did not come to assert himself or to set out personal projects to pursue, as generally happens for each of us. Jesus came down from heaven to communicate to men "the words of God" and to give "the Spirit without measure". It is from this conviction that the honor and devotion we must have for the Holy Scriptures arises: they contain "the words of God". Every day we are called to listen to them and meditate on them until we make them ours. For us, the Bible is not just any book, but the treasure chest that contains the very thought of God. For this reason we must open it, enjoy it page after page, letting ourselves be guided by the "Spirit" given to us "without measure" also for this reason. It is not possible to understand the profound meaning of the Holy Scriptures without the help of the Spirit. He was given to us abundantly, precisely, "without measure" to allow us to be led in listening and interpreting the Holy Scriptures. Beyond the literal meaning of the biblical words there is a deeper, spiritual one, which helps us tie together the words of the Bible and what we are experiencing. The connection between the Bible and history, between the biblical words we hear and our life in the concreteness of existence is the work of the Spirit. For this reason, listening to the Holy Scriptures must be done in a climate of prayer: we need the Spirit of God to understand the Word of God. For this reason, continued listening to the Holy Scriptures, in a climate of prayer, will force our hearts to to change, to become instruments in the hands of God to make this world of ours more filled with the love of the Lord. The evangelist writes: "The Father loves the Son and has given everything into his hand". It is the strength to change the world, to defeat evil and make good grow, which the Lord experienced first and which he also gives to those who believe in him.