January 8: Saturday after Epiphany
1 John 5:14-21 / John 3:22-30
A number of years ago Newsweek magazine carried a moving article about the crash of United Airlines flight 629 in Colorado. Someone had hidden a bomb on the plane, killing all aboard. Two of the dead passengers were parents of three young sons in Pittsburgh. The pastor of St. Gabriel's asked the oldest boy, Jerry, if it would be okay to hold a prayer service for his parents that afternoon. Jerry said yes, and then added, “Could we also say a prayer for the man who killed my mother and father?” Mark 15:39
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When was the last time we prayed, by name, for someone who sinned against us in some way? "Forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.” Colossians 3:13
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In a sort of profession of faith, the apostle John sums up his letter. We belong to God on account of Jesus Christ. He has brought us eternal life; this life does not tolerate sin; because we live in him, he hears our prayers.
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John the Baptist bears the same witness: we belong to Christ as the bride to the bridegroom; our life must be identified with his, his life must grow in us. In this Eucharist, may the Lord let us share more deeply in his life.
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In one of the most profound revelations in the readings after the feast of Epiphany, we come to the gospel text of today that talks about John the Baptist and his role as the one who prepares the way for Jesus.
And as the gospel text puts it, that was before John was put into prison, which effectively ended his ministry and later it would also end his life. John was baptising, and so was Jesus, and hence John's disciples brought out this issue to him and was concerned that everyone was going to Jesus. Yet John was graciously profound when he said he was not the Christ and that he was just the one who has been sent before the Christ.
John knew he was not the bridegroom but just the best-man; he was not the Christ but just the baptizer; and that he must grow smaller and the Christ must grow greater. And with that comes a statement from John the Baptist that revealed his self-understanding, and at the same time something that we ourselves need to understand.
He said, "A man can lay claim only to what is given him from above." And with those words he stepped aside for Jesus and he faded off and faded away.
John knew what he was given from above and he claimed that authority and fulfilled his mission. We too know what we have been given from above. The 1st reading says that the Son of God has come and has given us the power to know the true God. To know the true God is to acknowledge Jesus is Lord and to gain from Him the reward of eternal life.
To desire and yearn for passing things is to worship a false god, and to lose what we have been given from above. Yet in order to lay claim to what we have been given from above, we need to grow smaller and to let God grow greater. That is what our life is all about on earth; and that is also what eternal life is all about.
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Prayer
Lord, God of life, we belong fully to you through your Son Jesus Christ. In him you have called us to real-life, free, expansive, reaching beyond death. Help us to develop this life with all its potentials and to treasure it as a trust not to be kept to ourselves but to be shared as a gift with all those around us. Let your Son live and grow in us now and forever. Amen
