Bible Study: 1 John 2, 22 to 28. And John 1, 19 to 28.
I got curious yesterday when a friend sent me a message saying, there is
nothing new about the New Year. According to him, the only difference between January
1st and December 31st is that we refused to call it
December 32nd. For him, since we are all going to fall back to life
as usual, then there is really no need to celebrate on New Year day.
But then, the truth is that we are the ones who know that at the start
of a new calendar year, a lot of things are going to begin afresh in our lives.
We really have course to celebrate a new year not because the world calls it a
new year but because deep inside of us, we are resolved to change from bad to
good, we are resolved to learn from the mistakes of the past, we are resolved
to live better lives, to love God more and to love our neighbours as ourselves.
This is really what is new about the New Year. The year is new because our
hearts are new.
St. John tell us this morning that anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ
is not just a liar but an anti-christ. And one of the ways we deny Christ is by
living as if we do not know he exists. We deny Christ by refusing to allow his
words govern our thoughts and actions. We deny Christ when we say with our lips
that we are Christians but by our life, we do not represent Christ. We can make
this year really new for ourselves if we decide from this day to make Christ
more visible in our lives.
When it comes to representing Christ, John the Baptist in our Gospel
passage this morning, becomes our number one model. When he was asked by the
Levites, “who are you?” he did not claim to be Christ, neither did he claim to
be Elijah instead he said he was just a voice preparing the way for Christ and
he was not even worthy to untie his sandals. John the Baptist knew who he was. He
recognised his purpose and mission and perfectly helped to prepare the hearts
and minds of many for Christ.
Our mission has Christians like that of John the Baptist is to make
Christ known in the world. We are to animate the values that Christ himself
stood for, we are to live according to the beatitudes that Christ preached
about, and according to the higher standards Christ gave to us. For instance,
when Christ said: “You have heard how it was said, an eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth, but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you.” These days, you hardly find anyone, even fellow Christians live
according to this precept instead we pray violent prayers for the death of our
enemies and for fire to burn them.
Basically, there is no difference between those of us who say we are
Christians and those who are not when it comes to relating with our enemies or
in terms of living out Christ’s standard of morality. “You have heard how it
was said, do not commit adultery, but I say to you, anyone who looks at a woman
lustfully, has already committed adultery with her.” By our refusal to go beyond
the average, we have denied that we really know Christ or that Christ exists.
Dear friends, let us make the next 365 days new by resolving to be living
testimonies of Christ.
Today also, we celebrate two great saints, Basil and Gregory. Born in
Caesarea, Cappadocia (Turkey) in 329, St. Basil followed the monastic way of
life. As a powerful preacher, he vigorously fought the Arian heresy. Born in
the same year (329), St. Gregory of Nazianzen was a friend of Basil, and also
followed the monastic way of life for many years. He became Patriarch of Constantinople and was
a great theologian, defending the Catholic faith. These two saints, bishops,
outstanding theologians and doctors of the Church, prepare the way for the
coming of the Lord in our hearts. They
recognized his coming and even today exhort us to make our paths straight.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, give me courage to change my heart that my life may represent
you wherever I go. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you. Happy weekend.
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