Saturday January 8

Saturday After Epiphany

Belonging to God in Jesus Christ

In a sort of profession of faith, the apostle John sums up his letter. We belong to God on account of Jesus Christ. He has brought us eternal life; this life does not tolerate sin; because we live in him, he hears our prayers.

John the Baptist bears the same witness: we belong to Christ as the bride to the bridegroom; our life must be identified with his, his life must grow in us.

In this Eucharist, may the Lord let us share more deeply in his life.

 

First Reading: 1 John 5:14-21

My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

For instance, if we see a Christian believer sinning (clearly, I’m not talking about those who make a practice of sin in a way that is “fatal,” leading to eternal death), we ask for God’s help and he gladly gives it, gives life to the sinner whose sin is not fatal. There is such a thing as a fatal sin, and I’m not urging you to pray about that. Everything we do wrong is sin, but not all

We know that none of the God-begotten makes a practice of sin—fatal sin. The God-begotten are also the God-protected. The Evil One can’t lay a hand on them. We know that we are held firm by God; it’s only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the Evil One. And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift! —and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.

 

Gospel: John 3:22-30

After this conversation, Jesus went on with his disciples into the Judean countryside and relaxed with them there. He was also baptizing. At the same time, John was baptizing over at Aenon near Salim, where water was abundant. This was before John was thrown into jail. John’s disciples got into an argument with the establishment Jews over the nature of baptism. They came to John and said, “Rabbi, you know the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan? The one you authorized with your witness? Well, he’s now competing with us. He’s baptizing, too, and everyone’s going to him instead of us.”

John answered, “It’s not possible for a person to succeed—I’m talking about eternal success—without heaven’s help. You yourselves were there when I made it public that I was not the Messiah but simply the one sent ahead of him to get things ready. The one who gets the bride is, by definition, the bridegroom. And the bridegroom’s friend, his ‘best man’—that’s me—in place at his side where he can hear every word, is genuinely happy. How could he be jealous when he knows that the wedding is finished and the marriage is off to a good start?

 “That’s why my cup is running over. This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines.

 

Prayer

Lord, God of life,
we belong fully to you
through your Son Jesus Christ.
In him you have called us to real life,
free, expansive, reaching beyond death.
Help us to develop this life
with all its potentials
and to treasure it as a trust
not to be kept to ourselves
but to be shared as a gift
with all those around us.
Let your Son live and grow in us
now and for ever. Amen.

 

Reflection:

DISCIPLESHIP – A CALL TO HUMILITY

Today’s gospel brings to us two key sentences from John the Baptist as guidelines for our participation in the life of the community – the Church. Our faith in Jesus implies that we are members of one Family. We cannot ignore our brothers and sisters and still claim to be disciples of Christ. When the disciples of John the Baptist realised a potential threat from the baptising mission of Jesus and his disciples, they ran up to the Baptist and complain. The response of John should be made our life-principle.
“He Must Increase; I Must Decrease”: This life-motto must take root in our hearts. In our homes, parishes and communities, and in the society at large, it is our experience that we are willing to offer our services, provided our efforts and services are acknowledged, applauded and helps to enhance our self-importance. We claim to serve Christ, but if we have our status compromised by criticism or see someone less capable moved ahead of us in rank, our hearts crumble in disappointment and we withdraw from the scene. Moreover, we wait for opportunities to criticise people for their lack of commitment and the poor quality of the job done.
The story of John the Baptist invites us to look into our own lives to see if our aspirations and actions are to project our self-importance or we allow ourselves to be windows to the heart of Christ in the world, centered on love, humility and service. If I desire to project my name and status ahead of Christ, I do not deserve to be called a “Christian.”
John says, he “Rejoices Greatly at the Voice of the Bridegroom”: The Baptist had his focus fixed on the one who was coming. As a best-man in a wedding feast, he eagerly awaits the appearance of the bridegroom. He prepares the stage for the groom. As the bridegroom arrives on stage, the best-man rejoices in the happiness of the groom, and steps aside the centre stage. John recognises the bridegroom – the Messiah – and is more than happy to leave the stage for him.
Many of the miseries that confront our families, our communities and the Church today, result from our unwillingness to leave the stage for Christ; instead we place ourselves at the centre as the protagonist of the mission. Thus we are busy preparing ways for ourselves instead of preparing the Way of the Lord.

Lord, help me grow in the virtue of humility and have the joy of placing myself at the service of others.

 

Video available on Youtube: DISCIPLESHIP – A CALL TO HUMILITY