Reflection on Today's Readings, Thursday after Epiphany of the Lord, January 6th, 2022
Texts: 1 John 4: 19-5:4; Psalm 72: 1-2.14.15cd.17; Luke 4:14-22a
Jesus Christ, in today's gospel reading, fulfills the prophetic words of Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Just like Jesus Christ we are to fulfil the words of God about us. We are to fulfil the words of God, for there lies our destiny. We fulfil our destiny by fulfilling the words of God.
In the prophetic words of Isaiah, it is said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me". We need to have the spirit of the Lord to be able to fulfil His words about us. This Spirit of the Lord is love. We need to love to be able to fulfil the words of God. We need love to preach the good news to the poor, we need love to bring release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, we need love to set at liberty the oppressed and to proclaim acceptable year of the Lord. It is because of lack of love that we become enemies to one another. We cheat one another because of lack of love. Bribery and corruption, abuse of human rights, dehumanisation, robbery, terrorism, banditry etc are due to lack of love. Evil spreads because of lack of love. We need love to live meaningful life and to fulfil one's destiny, dream and vision. Let us love and be kind.
St. John, in today's first reading, tells us that God is the initiator of love. In his words: "We love God, because he first loved us." We are expected to reciprocate God's love for us. It means we love God because He loves. God teaches us to love by showing us love. God leads by example. We are, therefore, reminded to do what we require from other. If we want others to be good, let us be good; if we want others to be just, let us be just; if we want others to be virtuous, let us be virtuous.
St. John tells us that we cannot have the capacity to love God if we lack the capacity to love our neighbours. He puts it thus: "If any one says, 'I love God' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." This means we should be able to love our neighbours before we can love God. This is based on presupposition that it is easier to love what we see than what we do not see.
St. John also affirms that to love one's neighbours is to keep the commandment of God. The failure to love our neighbours is a disobedience to the commandments of God; it means we break the commandments of God. When we fail to love our neighbours, we also fail to love God, for to love God is to keep His commandments. St. John also reveals that to love God is to love what belongs to Him. In this he uses the analogy of parents and children. We cannot claim to love God when we do not love what He created. This means it is not only human beings that we should have loving relationship with but the whole creation, for heaven and earth belongs to God (Ps. 24: 1-2). We cannot also claim to love God genuinely when we abuse His creation.
O God, who through your Son raised up your eternal light for all nations, grant that your people may come to acknowledge the full splendour of their Redeemer, that, bathed ever more in his radiance, they may reach everlasting glory. Amen. (Collect)
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
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