Call to Love and to Pray

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Wednesday After Epiphany, January 6th, 2021

Texts: 1John 4:11-18; Ps. 72:1-2.10-13; Mark 6:45-52

St. John, in today's first reading, calls us to love one another. He makes two cases why we should love one another. The first case is that God loves us. He puts it thus: "if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." We show that God loves us when we love one another. It is a call to reflect the love of God in our lives.   

Another case he makes is that When we love one another, we show it concretely that we love God. St. John says, "No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." We show our love for God by loving one another. Do we love God? Then, let us love one another. In the first case we are to love one another because God loves us; in the second case loving one another is the possible way of showing our love for God.

St. John also tells us what love does. Love banishes fear and gives confidence. In love there is no fear; no one fears who he knows loves him. In today's gospel reading, Jesus Christ says, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." The fear will only disappear if we know that He loves us. Jesus asks us not to fear because He loves us. It is an assurance of His love: I love you, fear not; I will not hurt you. St. John reminds us that if we love Him and know that He loves us, we will not fear the day of judgement. 

St. John also reminds us that when we love one another, God abides in us and we in Him. This means love unites us to God. He tells us that loving one another we know that God abides in us and we in Him. He also tells us that God lives in us through His Spirit He has given us. He says, "By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us his own Spirit." The Spirit of the Father in us reveals the Son, for without the son, there is no father; the existence of father points to the son. Hence, St. John says, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him." 

The gospel reading also has the theme of prayer. After Jesus Christ had fed five thousand people, be went up a mountain to pray. When He returned from the mountain He walked on the sea. Prayer is a return to the Father to be refilled with power and strength. Jesus Christ has given us example that we are to pray, that we are to return to the Father for power and strength to carry on. We are to pray and pray always. 

Prayer is also also a confirmation of our trust in God's love for us. If we love God we will always seek to be with Him in prayer; without love prayer becomes difficult and dry. In love, prayer is enjoyed, effective and efficacious.

Lord our God, fill us with your love to banish fear and give confidence, and to make our prayer pleasing to you. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke