Breaking the Word

Tenth day of Christmas, Holy Name of Jesus, Wednesday – 03^rd January 2024 – 1 John 2,39-3,6; John 1,29-34

Becoming Pure like Jesus

The celebration of Christmas reminds once again that things have greatly changed as a result of the Son of God becoming human. Because Jesus has shared in our humanity, He invites us to share in the divine life by making us truly daughters and sons of God. Part of the results of our becoming children of God, however, is the responsibilities we have to live like Jesus. as He lived during His earthly life: pure and free from sin. The goal of living a pure life is to be like Christ. He is pure, and believers seek to live like Him. The more we focus on our relationship with the One who came to take away our sins, the more likely we are to remain sinless. Purity is more emphasized in the New Testament.  In Mt 5,8 Jesus taught, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Paul sought to present believers as a “pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor 11,2). Believers are to “be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Phil 1,10). 1 Peter 3,2 speaks of the “pure conduct” a believer should pursue, which stands out among unbelievers. To be pure is to be free from sin, to live increasingly like Christ in a world filled with evil. Believers who live in this manner will see God “as He is” and become like Him.

Christmas Octave, Saturday – 30^th December 2023 – 1 John 2,12-17; Lk 2,36-40

Value System of Christian

In the first reading, John addresses three different generations of believers in families: Children, Parents and Youngsters. He says that their value system should be markedly different from those who only seek earthly pleasures. Continuing from yesterday’s discussion on ‘walking in the light’, John now focuses on the condition to be ‘detached from the world.’ He informs his readers that they should keep their eyes focused on the ways of God and not be enticed by merely worldly values. The world has two meanings in John’s writing. On the one hand, it can refer simply to the material environment in which we find ourselves and includes everything in our planet and in the whole universe. In other worlds, it refers to God’s creation which the Creator found ‘very good.’ We are called by the Gospel to be very much part of that world, to be fully inserted into it (Mt 5,13). And indeed, we are an integral part of the earth: we come from it and at the end we go back to it (Gen 3,19).  However, ‘world’ also refers to all sorts of thinking which is far from the thinking of God. Specifically, the worldly inclinations are summed up here: the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride in riches. This is the ‘world’ from which we must be detached. By embracing those things which are in conflict with the vision of God, we close ourselves to His love for us.  We are invited to have a strong relationship with God and it also demands a different attitude to the worldly ways.