In the Late 1970s and early 1980s, it was hardly possible to watch a major sporting event without seeing a man holding up a sign. This is what the sign said: John 3:16. It is, of course, the verse that begins today’s gospel: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.”

The man’s name is Rollen Frederick Steward, popularly known as Rock’n Rollen.

He was a fundamentalist self-proclaimed Christian and was determined to be seen on T.V. at virtually every sporting event. He was seen at the 1977 NBA Finals, the 1979 MLB All-Star Game, behind NFL goal posts, near the Olympic Games medal stands, the Masters Tournament, the Indianapolis 500. Eventually, T.V. broadcasters would stop showing him. IN 1980, at the Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia, he was briefly arrested by the Soviet Police.

Major Protestant leaders found him embarrassing, and then, we didn’t see him anymore. Currently, he is serving 3 consecutive life sentences in a California prison for kidnapping and attempted murder. His victim was his 4^th wife at the time and Rollen tried to choke her to death for not standing in the proper place to hold up a similar John 3:16 sign.

Thus, a lesson in taking a verse from Scripture out of context.

First of all, it should be remembered that early manuscripts of Scripture did not have chapters and verses. These came centuries later. The original texts were written in a continuous narrative, not even with spaces between words or even punctuation. Paper was too expensive to be wasted on unnecessary punctuation.

The Gospels are intended to be heard, not read. Most people were illiterate and could not even have possessed what were then enormously expensive manuscripts.

The particular verse from John’s Gospel has an out-of-place condemnatory implication. Taken out of context, it both explicitly and implicitly states that anyone who does not accept Jesus will be condemned to hell.

That is contrary to the teachings of the Church. This can be seen in the general intercessions of Good Friday when the Church prays for Catholics, all other non-Christians, and even atheists.

The condemnation of non-believers to hell is a favorite power tactic of too many people. That’s God’s sole prerogative. Taken as a whole, Scripture proclaims the goodness and mercy of God.

What happened to Mr. Steward is a teachable moment for those who think that they alone possess the power of God’s judgement. It’s against the entire proclamation of Jesus’ message of love and forgiveness.

As someone said of the early Puritans in America, there are some people who are enormously upset that somebody somewhere might actually be happy.

It didn’t work out well for the Puritans who resorted to murder of non-conformists; and it clearly didn’t work out well for Rock’n Rollin Steward, whose next parole hearing will be in 2017. He will be 73 years old, and has been denied parole twice since his imprisonment. Trying to kill your wife is certainly not condoned in the teaching of Christ, John 3:16 notwithstanding.

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