Reflection on Today's Readings, Wednesday after Epiphany of the Lord, January 5th, 2022
Texts: 1 John 4.11-18; Psalm 72: 1-2.10-13; Mark 6:45-52
God has shown us so much love. One way of appreciating Him for His love is to love Him in our neighbours. Loving our neighbours is a concrete way of manifesting our love for God. St. John says, "if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." When we love our neighbours, we perfect the God's love in ourselves and show the love to the world. Because God is love, living life of love is our own way of manifesting God to the world. This means life of love is a kind of epiphany of the Lord. Let us live life of love so that our lives can be a revelation of God to the world.
When we live life of love, it is a sign that God abides in us, for God is love. St. John tells us that the assurance of God's presence in us is His Spirit in us. He puts it thus: "By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit." The spirit given to us is love, for God is love. Put differently, we know that God abides in us because of the love He has poured into us. When we know we have no reason to doubt the presence of God in us. Whatever the situation, whether pleasant or not, He is in there with us.
We are told, in today's gospel reading, that Jesus knew His disciples were in distress and He joined them in the distress. It said of Him thus: "And he saw that they were distressed in rowing, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea." He never abandons us in distress, He is in there with us. What, then, is the message of Christmas time, if not that God has come to join us in our distress? Let us love and we will experience more of Him. Being love, He cannot do but be present in one who loves. Not to be present in one who loves is to deny Himself love. It is impossible to love genuinely if He has not been present. We love genuinely because He is in us. One who loves, God is not only in him/her, he/she is in God, lives and acts in God. We love because we are in God. Hence, doubt not His presence when you love or in the one who loves.
St. John also tells us the meaning of our celebration at Christmastide: "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world." As we celebrate Christmas, we testify that the Father has sent His Son. St. John adds thus: "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." The confession of Jesus Christ, here, is not just in words but with change of heart and ways of life. It is a kind of confession that comes with life of love. The confession of Jesus Christ is to live life of love.
St. John goes further to tell us the importance of love: it drives out fear and gives confidence. Love helps us not to fear the day of judgment, for love assures us of commendation on the day of judgment and the reward of eternal life. Love expects commendation, not punishment which causes fear. He puts it thus: "In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love."
O God, who bestow light on all the nations, grant your peoples the gladness of lasting peace and pour into our hearts that brilliant light by which you purified the minds of our fathers in faith. Amen. (Today's Collect)
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
Posts
0 Comments