Eternal Life: Life in Jesus Christ

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Friday after Epiphany, January 8th, 2021

Texts: 1John 5:5-13; Ps. 147:12-15.19-20

Luke 5:12-16

St. John, in today's first reading, makes a case that our life as Christians is hidden in Jesus Christ. He says, "And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life." While on earth as Christian we already have eternal life by our faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith manifests in being born of water, the blood and the spirit and this is in following Jesus Christ. St. John says, "This is he who came by water and blood. And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth. There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree."

The water means baptism; it is through baptism that eternal life is given to us. Jesus says,  Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). When one is born of water, the Spirit of God continues to dwell in him and by so doing he is born of the Spirit. We are born of the Spirit when we no longer live according to the flesh and our passions. We are born of the Spirit when we focus on pleasing God rather than ourselves. We are born of the Spirit when the will of God becomes priority in our lives.

The blood means death. In the book of Revelation it is said, "And there have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death" (12:11). Jesus Christ puts it thus: "Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it" (Luke 17:33). We obtain eternal life by not clinging to the temporal life. He who has eternal life has conquered death and so fear not death anymore. Many of us do not believe that we have eternal life and so fear death. Fear of death is a testimony  that we do not have faith in Jesus Christ.

Today's gospel reading shows that God is always willing and ready to give us eternal life if we come to Him in faith. This is depicted in the healing of the man with leprosy who demonstrated firm faith in Jesus Christ. He says, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." He declared his faith in the power of Jesus Christ to heal by saying, "you can make clean." Since He has the power to do it, He only has to will it. And Jesus Christ says, "I will; be clean." Let us declare our faith in Jesus Christ and win eternal life. Jesus Christ has already won the eternal life for us, we only need to obtain it by faith.

Lord our God, inspire in us faith in Your Son, that we may have eternal life. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke