Thursday January 3, 2019
Introduction
The message of today speaks in two different senses of being God’s sons and daughters. There is first Christ, the Son of God in a deeper way than one said to be beloved by God. John recognizes him as God’s own Son, with a human and divine personality. He is sent among people by the Father as the One who will save us by his sufferings, as the Lamb, as the suffering servant.
On account of him, we are born of God, we are God’s sons and daughters, as John will say in his letter. However banal our existence may look, there is this astonishing truth: we are God’s children. This is not merely a beautiful word; it’s a deep reality. This dignity gives us the responsibility to grow, to give up sin, to mature to the full personhood of Christ, for that is what children are supposed to do.
Opening Prayer
Lord God, Father of Jesus Christ,
in your only Son you have made us
your sons and daughters,
who are born of you and live your life.
Help us to seek your will always
and to grow in your love,
towards that freedom and maturity
to which you have called us
in Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Reading 1: 1 JN 2:29–3:6
If you consider that God is righteous,
you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness
is begotten by him.
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness,
for sin is lawlessness.
You know that he was revealed to take away sins,
and in him there is no sin.
No one who remains in him sins;
no one who sins has seen him or known him.
Responsorial Psalm 98:1, 3CD-4, 5-6
R. (3cd) All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Alleluia JN 1:14A, 12A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him
he gave power to become the children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: JN 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.'
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel."
John testified further, saying,
"I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."
Intercessions
– That more and more people all over the world may know that they are children of God, of a God who loves them tenderly as a father and a mother, we pray:
– That however different we are in many ways, we may come to accept, appreciate and love one another as brothers and sisters, we pray:
– That God may recreate us anew every day in the image of his Son and let us grow up more and more in the likeness of Jesus, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, our Father,
these gifts of bread and wine,
coming from your hands,
are also the fruit of our toil.
We bring them before you
as the signs of our goodwill
to continue the struggle
against the forces of evil
in us and around us.
In the storms and trials of life,
help us to overcome sin,
that you may reveal to us the glory,
which you have prepared for us
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, our Father,
you have visited your sons and daughters
through our brother, Jesus Christ.
Help us to live together
as a community of friendship, sharing and peace,
that we may bear witness
that you are our God and we your people,
through our brother and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Blessing
Children of God, that is indeed what we are. May the thought of this reality fill us with a sense of admiration, gratitude and security. May Almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
Two words of great significance appear in today’s scriptures: lamb and children. John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the Lamb of God. At every Eucharist before the communion, the celebrant raises the host and says, “Behold the Lamb of God.” The back¬ground to the image is found in two evident sources in the Old Testament. The first comes from the Passover ritual celebrating the liberation of the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage (Exod 11-12). In order that the Hebrew children not be slain by the avenging angel, the Hebrews were to sprinkle the blood of a newly slaughtered lamb on their doorposts. The lamb then became a symbol of deliverance in the Passover ritual.
The lamb appears again in the last song of the servant in the Book of Isaiah. The mysterious servant is about to undergo death in expiation for the sins of his people (Isa 53). He goes to his death humbly and submissively, like a lamb led to the slaughter. These instances serve as background to our understanding of Jesus as the Lamb of God. Like the Hebrews in Egyptian bondage, we have been liberated from the slavery of sin through the blood of a lamb—Christ. And like Isaiah’s humble servant, Christ with per¬fect submission hands himself over for our salvation.
In the Johannine writings, the author shows a marked prefer¬ence for the term children in addressing his audience. It is used as a term of endearment for his own community members. Through Christian baptism we become part of the family of God. Father and Son are united by the Spirit of love, and that same Spirit is infused in us. This distinguished the baptism of Jesus from that of John. We are no longer outsiders, hired hands, or domestics. We now come in by the front door, are seated at the master’s table, and are part of the family inheritance. This is reality, not wishful thinking. We are truly privileged to be children of God.
The lamb and the child are joined. If Christ had not become die Lamb, we would not be family members. Gratitude is the only motive for goodness. We are saved by God and then made his children. No Christmas present can match that.
Points to Ponder
Jesus the Lamb of God
Jesus servant of the Lord
Jesus our Brother;
God our Father
Fellow Christians: brothers and sisters
