The Victory Over The World Is Eternal Life

 

He who has the Son has life.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, Saturday Before Epiphany, January 6th, 2024
Texts: 1 John 5:5-13; Psalm 147:12-15,19-20; Mark 1:7-11 

We see in today’s first reading that the victory over the world is eternal life. This means true victory is hope of eternal life. He who has no hope of eternal life has lost his battle in this world. No matter what happens to us, if our hope of eternal life is still intact, we have won. The eternal life is in Jesus Christ. St. John 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.”  

St. John tells us that the purpose of his letter is to assure the believers in Christ of eternal life. He says, “I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” However, in doing this he tells us how the believers obtained it. We could also say he tells us how to obtain eternal life. 

How to obtain eternal life

We obtain the eternal life by our faith in Jesus Christ. Hence, St. John says, “Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that  Jesus is the Son of God?” The faith in Jesus Christ must align with the witness of the Blood, Water and the Spirit. St. John puts it thus: “This is he who came by water and blood,  Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth.” 

St. John speaks of the agreement among the three witnesses. He says, “There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree.” This means we cannot accept one and reject the others; the denial of one is denial of the others. The three witnesses say one thing.  

Wherever one is present the other two are present

At baptism with the water, the spirit came down in form of dove. We also heard the Father’s voice. St. John says, “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has borne witness to his Son.” One does not exist without the others; wherever one is present the other two are present.   

Today’s gospel reading affirms the event of the baptism thus: “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’" The witness happened in space and time. This is clear in the words: “In those days  Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” 

Prayer 

Almighty ever-living God, who were pleased to shine forth with new light through the coming of your Only Begotten Son, grant, we pray, that, just as he was pleased to share our bodily form through the child-bearing of the Virgin Mary, so we, too, may one day merit to become companions in his kingdom of grace. Amen (Collect) 

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke