Saturday after Epiphany
Lectionary: 217
Lectionary: 217
Beloved:
We have this confidence in him
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours.
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life.
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.
We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin;
but the one begotten by God he protects,
and the Evil One cannot touch him.
We know that we belong to God,
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.
We also know that the Son of God has come
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against idols.
We have this confidence in him
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours.
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life.
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.
We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin;
but the one begotten by God he protects,
and the Evil One cannot touch him.
We know that we belong to God,
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.
We also know that the Son of God has come
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against idols.
Responsorial PsalmPS 149:1-2, 3-4, 5-6A AND 9B
R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaMT 4:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 3:22-30
Jesus and his
disciples went into the region of Judea,
where he spent some time with them baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,
because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned.
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew
about ceremonial washings.
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,
to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”
John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;
the best man, who stands and listens for him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.
So this joy of mine has been made complete.
He must increase; I must decrease.”
where he spent some time with them baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,
because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned.
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew
about ceremonial washings.
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,
to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”
John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;
the best man, who stands and listens for him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.
So this joy of mine has been made complete.
He must increase; I must decrease.”
Meditation: "This joy of mine is now full"
Do you know the joy of the Lord? When some friends of John the
Baptist complain that all the people are now going to Jesus, John in his
characteristic humility exclaimed that he was not the Messiah but only the
messenger sent to prepare his way. John describes the Messiah as the Bridegroom
and himself as the friend of the Bridegroom. The image of the groom delighting
in his bride and the joy of the wedding feast is used in the Bible as a sign or
symbol of God's covenant love and joy in being united with his people, whom he
calls his bride. As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall
your God rejoice over you (Isaiah 62:5).
Through the gift of the Holy Spirit John recognized that Jesus
was sent from the Father in heaven the anointed Messiah, sent from the
Father in heaven to reunite his people to himself. John acted as the groom's
best man in arranging the marriage and in making preparations for the marriage
feast. John and his disciples now rejoice that the Bridegroom has come to make
his bride, the people of God, ready for the marriage feast. The New Testament
tells us that Christ's blood which was shed upon the cross as the atoning
sacrifice for our sins, seals us in a new covenant between God
and his people. The Book of Revelation depicts the final fulfillment and
consummation of this new covenant relationship at the marriage feast of the
"Lamb and his Bride" in the New Jerusalem (see Revelations
21-22). Do you look with joyful anticipation to the consummation of God's plan
for his people at the end of the ages?
"Lord Jesus, may I never forget the love you have poured
out for me when you shed your blood upon the Cross of Calvary for my sins and
for my salvation. May your love always grow in me and your hope fill me with
joy as I wait for your return in glory when all of your people will be fully
united with you at your heavenly banquet feast in the New Jerusalem."
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, CHRISTMAS WEEKDAY, JOHN
3:22-30
(1 John 5:14-21; Psalm 149)
KEY VERSE: "He must increase; I must decrease" (v 30).
READING: With the close of the ministry of John the Baptist, the age of promise was at an end, and the time of fulfillment was at hand. After Jesus was baptized by John, he spent time with his disciples who baptized those who chose to follow Jesus (John explained that Jesus did not baptize; only his disciples baptized, Jn 4:2). John the Baptist's disciples objected to the baptisms performed by Jesus' disciples. They complained that everyone was following Jesus instead of John. But the Baptist explained that no one could receive anything except what had been given from heaven (v 27). He reminded his jealous followers that he was simply the best man at the wedding, and it was Jesus who was the bridegroom. John's role was complete, and as his ministry decreased. He must step aside for Jesus whose role would now increase.
REFLECTING: Does my ministry draw more attention to myself than to Jesus?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to serve with humility like John.
(1 John 5:14-21; Psalm 149)
KEY VERSE: "He must increase; I must decrease" (v 30).
READING: With the close of the ministry of John the Baptist, the age of promise was at an end, and the time of fulfillment was at hand. After Jesus was baptized by John, he spent time with his disciples who baptized those who chose to follow Jesus (John explained that Jesus did not baptize; only his disciples baptized, Jn 4:2). John the Baptist's disciples objected to the baptisms performed by Jesus' disciples. They complained that everyone was following Jesus instead of John. But the Baptist explained that no one could receive anything except what had been given from heaven (v 27). He reminded his jealous followers that he was simply the best man at the wedding, and it was Jesus who was the bridegroom. John's role was complete, and as his ministry decreased. He must step aside for Jesus whose role would now increase.
REFLECTING: Does my ministry draw more attention to myself than to Jesus?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to serve with humility like John.
Saturday 10 January 2015
1 John 5:14-21. The Lord
takes delight in his people—Ps 149:1-6, 9. John 3:22-30.
‘He must grow greater, I
must grow less.’
Perhaps the mark of a true
prophet consists precisely in this: that he or she continues to point others
towards the Lord. In relatively unspectacular ways, we are all called to be
prophets.
Sometimes people glimpse
the love of God in our lives and they are drawn to us. It can be comforting to
be the centre of a group and easier to bask in popularity than to challenge.
John had the rare gift of being able to rejoice that people were leaving him
and going after Jesus.
Jesus, give us John’s
greatness of heart and fidelity to the mission of revealing you to others. Let
us have the sense to stand aside, so that our shadow may not block out your
light.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
|
Blinded by Sin
|
People do know that there is a God. But sin has caused many of us
to become “futile” in our thinking and the light of truth in our minds has been
“darkened” to such a degree that we have lost all sense of that which is
obvious. The truth is so clear, but sin clouds the mind and blinds us to that
which is evident.
January
10
St. Gregory of Nyssa
(c. 330-395)
St. Gregory of Nyssa
(c. 330-395)
The son of two saints, Basil and Emmilia, young Gregory was raised
by his older brother, St. Basil the Great, and his sister, Macrina, in
modern-day Turkey. Gregory's success in his studies suggested great things were
ahead for him. After becoming a professor of rhetoric, he was persuaded to
devote his learning and efforts to the Church. By then married, Gregory went on
to study for the priesthood and become ordained (this at a time when celibacy
was not a matter of law for priests).
He was
elected Bishop of Nyssa (in Lower Armenia) in 372, a period of great tension
over the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. Briefly arrested
after being falsely accused of embezzling Church funds, Gregory was restored to
his see in 378, an act met with great joy by his people.
It was
after the death of his beloved brother, Basil, that Gregory really came into
his own. He wrote with great effectiveness against Arianism and other
questionable doctrines, gaining a reputation as a defender of orthodoxy. He was
sent on missions to counter other heresies and held a position of prominence at
the Council of Constantinople. His fine reputation stayed with him for the
remainder of his life, but over the centuries it gradually declined as the
authorship of his writings became less and less certain. But, thanks to the
work of scholars in the 20th century, his stature is once again appreciated.
Indeed, St. Gregory of Nyssa is seen not simply as a pillar of orthodoxy but as
one of the great contributors to the mystical tradition in Christian
spirituality and to monasticism itself.
Comment:
Orthodoxy is a word that can raise red flags in our minds. To some people it may connote rigid attitudes that make no room for honest differences of opinion. But it might just as well suggest something else: faith that has settled deep in one’s bones. Gregory’s faith was like that. So deeply imbedded was his faith in Jesus that he knew the divinity that Arianism denied. When we resist something offered as truth without knowing exactly why, it may be because our faith has settled in our bones.
Orthodoxy is a word that can raise red flags in our minds. To some people it may connote rigid attitudes that make no room for honest differences of opinion. But it might just as well suggest something else: faith that has settled deep in one’s bones. Gregory’s faith was like that. So deeply imbedded was his faith in Jesus that he knew the divinity that Arianism denied. When we resist something offered as truth without knowing exactly why, it may be because our faith has settled in our bones.
LECTIO DIVINA:
JOHN 3,22-30
Lectio:
Saturday, January 10, 2015
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
through your Son you made us a new creation.
He shared our nature and became one of us;
with his help, may we become more like him,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
through your Son you made us a new creation.
He shared our nature and became one of us;
with his help, may we become more like him,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - John 3,22-30
After this, Jesus went with his disciples into the Judaean
countryside and stayed with them there and baptised. John also was baptising at
Aenon near Salim, where there was plenty of water, and people were going there
and were being baptised. For John had not yet been put in prison.
Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew about purification, so they went to John and said, 'Rabbi, the man who was with you on the far side of the Jordan, the man to whom you bore witness, is baptising now, and everyone is going to him.' John replied: 'No one can have anything except what is given him from heaven. 'You yourselves can bear me out. I said, "I am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent to go in front of him." 'It is the bridegroom who has the bride; and yet the bridegroom's friend, who stands there and listens to him, is filled with joy at the bridegroom's voice. This is the joy I feel, and it is complete. He must grow greater, I must grow less.
Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew about purification, so they went to John and said, 'Rabbi, the man who was with you on the far side of the Jordan, the man to whom you bore witness, is baptising now, and everyone is going to him.' John replied: 'No one can have anything except what is given him from heaven. 'You yourselves can bear me out. I said, "I am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent to go in front of him." 'It is the bridegroom who has the bride; and yet the bridegroom's friend, who stands there and listens to him, is filled with joy at the bridegroom's voice. This is the joy I feel, and it is complete. He must grow greater, I must grow less.
3) Reflection
• Both John the Baptist and Jesus indicated a new way to the
crowds. But Jesus after having adhered to the movement of John the Baptist, and
after having been baptized by him, advanced a step ahead and created his own
movement. He baptized the persons in the Jordan River, when John the Baptist
was also doing it. Both of them attracted the poor and abandoned people of
Palestine, by announcing the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
• Jesus, the new preacher, had a certain advantage over John the Baptist. He baptized more people and attracted more disciples. Thus, a tension arose between the disciples of John and those of Jesus, concerning the “purification”, that is, concerning the value of Baptism. The disciples of John the Baptist experienced a certain envy and went to John to speak to him and informed him about the movement of Jesus.
• The response of John to his disciples is a beautiful response, which reveals his great spirit. John helps his disciples to see things more objectively. And he uses three arguments: a) Nobody receives anything which is not given by God. If Jesus does such beautiful things, it is because he receives them from God (Jn 3, 27). Instead of having envy, the disciples should feel joy. b) John reaffirms once again that he, John, is not the Messiah but only the precursor (Jn 3, 28). c) And at the end he uses a comparison, taken from the wedding feast. At that time, in Palestine, on the day of the wedding, in the house of the bride, the so called “friends of the bridegroom” waited for the arrival of the bridegroom to present him to the bride. In this case, Jesus is the bridegroom, the crowd is the bride. John the friend of the bridegroom. John the Baptist says that, in the voice of Jesus, he recognizes the voice of the bridegroom and can present him to the bride, to the crowds. At this moment, the bridegroom, the people, leave the friend of the bridegroom and follow Jesus, because they recognize in him the voice of their bridegroom!. And for this reason the joy of John is great, “complete joy”. John wants nothing for himself! His mission is to present the bridegroom to the bride! The last sentence summarizes everything: “He must grow greater, I must grow less!” This phrase is also the program for any person who follows Jesus.
• At the end of the first century, in Palestine as well as in Asia Minor, where there were some communities of Jews, there were also people who had been in contact with John the Baptist or who had been baptized by him (Acts 19, 3). Seen from outside, the movement of John the Baptist and that of Jesus were very similar to one another. Both of them announced the coming of the Kingdom (cfr. Mt 3, 1-2; 4, 17). There must have been some confusion between the followers of John and those of Jesus. And because of this, the witness of John about Jesus was very important. The four Gospel are concerned about giving the words of John the Baptist saying that he is not the Messiah. For the Christian communities, the Christian response, the response of John, “He must grow greater and I must grow less” was valid not only for the Disciples of John at the time of Jesus, but also for the disciples of the Batiste or Cambric community of the end of the first century.
• Jesus, the new preacher, had a certain advantage over John the Baptist. He baptized more people and attracted more disciples. Thus, a tension arose between the disciples of John and those of Jesus, concerning the “purification”, that is, concerning the value of Baptism. The disciples of John the Baptist experienced a certain envy and went to John to speak to him and informed him about the movement of Jesus.
• The response of John to his disciples is a beautiful response, which reveals his great spirit. John helps his disciples to see things more objectively. And he uses three arguments: a) Nobody receives anything which is not given by God. If Jesus does such beautiful things, it is because he receives them from God (Jn 3, 27). Instead of having envy, the disciples should feel joy. b) John reaffirms once again that he, John, is not the Messiah but only the precursor (Jn 3, 28). c) And at the end he uses a comparison, taken from the wedding feast. At that time, in Palestine, on the day of the wedding, in the house of the bride, the so called “friends of the bridegroom” waited for the arrival of the bridegroom to present him to the bride. In this case, Jesus is the bridegroom, the crowd is the bride. John the friend of the bridegroom. John the Baptist says that, in the voice of Jesus, he recognizes the voice of the bridegroom and can present him to the bride, to the crowds. At this moment, the bridegroom, the people, leave the friend of the bridegroom and follow Jesus, because they recognize in him the voice of their bridegroom!. And for this reason the joy of John is great, “complete joy”. John wants nothing for himself! His mission is to present the bridegroom to the bride! The last sentence summarizes everything: “He must grow greater, I must grow less!” This phrase is also the program for any person who follows Jesus.
• At the end of the first century, in Palestine as well as in Asia Minor, where there were some communities of Jews, there were also people who had been in contact with John the Baptist or who had been baptized by him (Acts 19, 3). Seen from outside, the movement of John the Baptist and that of Jesus were very similar to one another. Both of them announced the coming of the Kingdom (cfr. Mt 3, 1-2; 4, 17). There must have been some confusion between the followers of John and those of Jesus. And because of this, the witness of John about Jesus was very important. The four Gospel are concerned about giving the words of John the Baptist saying that he is not the Messiah. For the Christian communities, the Christian response, the response of John, “He must grow greater and I must grow less” was valid not only for the Disciples of John at the time of Jesus, but also for the disciples of the Batiste or Cambric community of the end of the first century.
4) Personal questions
• “He must grow greater, I must grow less”. This is John’s
program. Is this also my program?
• What is important is that the bride finds the bridegroom. We are only spokespersons, nothing more. And, am I this?
• What is important is that the bride finds the bridegroom. We are only spokespersons, nothing more. And, am I this?
5) Concluding prayer
They shall dance in praise of his name,
play to him on tambourines and harp!
For Yahweh loves his people,
he will crown the humble with salvation. (Ps 149,3-4)
play to him on tambourines and harp!
For Yahweh loves his people,
he will crown the humble with salvation. (Ps 149,3-4)
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