Sustaining the Love of God

 Reflection on Today's Readings, 5th Day of Octave of the Nativity of the Lord, Thursday 30th December, 2021
Texts: 1 John 2:12-17; Psalm 96:7-10; Luke 2:36-40
One thing that St. John makes us to realise, today, is that our reading and listening to God's word is not because we do not know God. He says, "I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the Evil One. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the Evil One." You are reading this reflection, today, not because you do not know God but because you know Him and you want to know Him the more. This shows we always need the words of God for sustenance. St. Peter tells us that we are born of God's word (1Pet. 1:23). We are not only born of God's word, we are also fed with God's word. We live and move in the word of God. The more we know God the more we want to know Him. The desire to know God is a sign that we have knowledge of Him.
St. John admonishes us to sustain our love for God by giving up the love of the world or things that are in it. In His words: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him." He condemned the love for the world because it is characterized by lust, uncontrolled desire. He says, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world."
We cannot sustain the love for God with the love for the world. In today's gospel reading, prophetess Anna is given to us as an example of one who did not love the world. It is said of her thus: "she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day."
We learn from prophetess Anna how to put off our love for the world by mortification. We have to mortify the flesh to put off the love of the world. Fasting helps us to put the lust of the flesh under control. We do not fast only from food, we can also fast from drinking, sex, smoking, etc. Fasting and prayer are antidote to the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Lord God almighty, we call on You for help to set us free from the grip of the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke