4th January, Tuesday, Weekday of Christmas Time
1 John 3:7-10 / 1:35-42
Whoever acts rightly is righteous; Whoever sins belongs to the devil.
Eventually, they decided to settle their dispute by asking a wise old man. The wise man replied, “My sons, only time will tell which of you has the magical ring. You will answer that question by your lives."
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How do our lives reflect the fact that we are God's children? "A healthy tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a poor tree bear good fruit. Every tree is known by the fruit it bears; you do not pick figs from thorn bushes or gather grapes from bramble bushes." Luke 6:43-44
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Here comes the great theme of the apostle John, almost like an obsession, both in his letter and in the gospel: God is the origin of all love. For he is love: a love that is giving, a love, as the gospel shows, that is compassionate. Self-communication is the mark of love: within God, from God to people and the world. He gives us his Son, who showed in his person that to love is to give up oneself out of love. And on the part of people, love means also to receive, to be willing to accept love as a pure gift, both from God and from one another.
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Can we imagine a world where the only light that we have is sunlight? Which means to say that after sunset, there is no electric bulbs to light up and probably the only light that is available is candle-light or the kerosene lamp. Well, it is not that difficult to imagine if we were to go to some rural area where there is no electricity and after sunset there is only fuel lamps to give light.
That would mean that when it is coming close to sunset and last-light, we have to get ourselves prepared for the darkness of the night. If we are not prepared for that darkness of the night, then it would be better to stay put and not move around till sunrise.
In the gospel, the meeting of Jesus and the two disciples happened at a particular time. The gospel has this detail that it was about the tenth hour, which means it was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. In the context of the gospel, there were no electric bulbs to light up for the night. So it means that 4 o'clock in the afternoon is time to call it a day and to get ready for the night.
For the two disciples, it was a time to decide as to what they want to do after that meeting with Jesus. As for us, we know that Jesus is the true light. We too need to decide what we want to do to prepare when the darkness of life envelopes us.
Would we still want to rely on the security of the artificial lights or would we place our trust on Jesus the true light. May we not rely on artificial lights but follow the true light so that we will not be afraid the dark nights of life.
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Prayer
Lord God, our Father, you took the initiative of loving us before we could ever love you, for love is your name and you are a God of people. Help us to recognize this love become flesh in Jesus your Son. Let him stir and transform the very depths of our hearts, that we too may offer to you and to people all the love of which you have made us capable through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
