Friday January 4, 2019
Introduction
“Come and see,” says Jesus to the two disciples of John who were curious about him. They came and saw their Savior and followed him. “Come and see.” With that, could we say the same to the people of today and show them that Christ is present in our midst? Would they find him among us? And do we ourselves recognize Christ passing among us?
Opening Prayer
Lord, our God,
your Son passes among us
as the saving Lamb,
and often, we are not aware of his presence.
Give us eyes of faith,
that we may see a glimpse of him
in the love and compassion of people around us,
in their encouragement and help,
in their concern for justice.
For in their goodness you show yourself
through your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Reading 1: 1 JN 3:7-10
Children, let no one deceive you.
The person who acts in righteousness is righteous,
just as he is righteous.
Whoever sins belongs to the Devil,
because the Devil has sinned from the beginning.
Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil.
No one who is begotten by God commits sin,
because God's seed remains in him;
he cannot sin because he is begotten by God.
In this way,
the children of God and the children of the Devil are made plain;
no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God,
nor anyone who does not love his brother.
Responsorial Psalm 98:1, 7-8, 9
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.
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy before the LORD.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The LORD comes;
he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Alleluia HEB 1:1-2
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel JN 1:35-42
John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher),
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where he was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah," which is translated Christ.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas," which is translated Peter.
Intercessions
– For those who have heard the special call of Jesus, “Come, follow me,” that they may remain faithful to their vocation, we pray:
– For those who preach the Gospel of Jesus, that their own life may be a constant invitation for people to live according to the Gospel, we pray:
– For our communities, that leaders and members may go together the way of the Lord as companions and friends, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, our Father,
you invite us to come and see
your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior,
in these signs of bread and wine.
May he stay with us not only here
in this Eucharistic celebration
but in the daily events of life,
that he may brighten its drabness
with his living nearness
and that he may change
the way we look at people and things,
for he is our Lord and Savior for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord, living God,
we thank you for having gathered us
around our brother Jesus Christ,
and for restoring us with the strength
of his body and blood.
Let him stay with us
as our companion in life,
that we, too, may say to those we encounter:
“Come and see Jesus alive among us.
Come and see how we try to love and serve one another.
Come and see how there is among us
justice and hope and trust.”
Help us to say and live this in all sincerity
by the power of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
“We have found the Savior,” exclaims the apostle. We, too, have found him. May this be our joy and prompt us to tell others about it. May all of us find him, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
Today the episode of John claims that the person who belongs to Christ cannot sin. This is in seeming contradiction to his ear¬lier statement that we all sin and cannot claim that we are inno¬cent (1:8). Here John speaks of a sinful way of life, not the occasional mishaps that befall all of us (5:16f). In other words, we set ourselves on the right course and strive to adhere to it. That is a sinless way of life. For John there are only two possibilities: to choose death and abandon Christ or to choose life and remain with the Lord on our earthly journey, occasional mishaps notwithstanding.
This all corresponds well with the call of the first disciples in today’s Gospel. Two of them, one of whom is Andrew, ask Jesus, “Where are you staying?” The question can be read on two levels, one regarding Jesus’ place of residence; the other, the divine indwelling. The truth is that Jesus “stays” in the Father and the Father in him. In “coming” and “seeing,” the disciples are invited to a deeper life in God. Later, Andrew goes to his brother Simon and claims to have met the Messiah. The journey of faith has begun.
It is interesting to note that the first disciples are not said to be fishermen. In John there are no boats or nets; they are simply disciples of the Baptist, who pass from him to the Lord. In the synoptic tradition, Simon’s change of name comes later. In John, Jesus calls him Cephas (“Peter”) right away.
The passage from sin to grace, from Satan to Christ, is a matter of choice. But once undertaken, it represents a complete transition. It is as different from a sinful way of life as darkness is from light. The Christmas season reminds us of what that choice has meant in our own lives.
We are often saddened when people dear to us no longer walk the path of faith, when the Eucharist and the other sacra¬ments no longer have meaning for them. Yet prayer can work wonders, as St. Monica discovered after years of praying for her son St. Augustine. In our love for those whose faith has grown dim, let us never fail to bring them before the Lord. At the same time, we are grateful to know where the Lord “is staying.” We too dwell with Father, Son, and Spirit in the household of God.
Points to Ponder
To come and see
Staying with the Lord
Dangers to faith today Love for the erring.
