20260107 REFLECTING THE FACE OF CHRIST TO HUMANITY
07 January 2026, Wednesday After Epiphany Sunday
First reading | 1 John 4:11-18 |
As long as we love one another God's love will be complete in us
My dear people,
since God has loved us so much,
we too should love one another.
No one has ever seen God;
but as long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
We can know that we are living in him
and he is living in us
because he lets us share his Spirit.
We ourselves saw and we testify
that the Father sent his Son
as saviour of the world.
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God lives in him, and he in God.
We ourselves have known and put our faith in
God’s love towards ourselves.
God is love
and anyone who lives in love lives in God,
and God lives in him.
Love will come to its perfection in us
when we can face the day of Judgement without fear;
because even in this world
we have become as he is.
In love there can be no fear,
but fear is driven out by perfect love:
because to fear is to expect punishment,
and anyone who is afraid is still imperfect in love.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 71(72):1-2,10-13 |
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
O God, give your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
The kings of Tarshish and the sea coasts
shall pay him tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba
shall bring him gifts.
Before him all kings shall fall prostrate,
all nations shall serve him.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
For he shall save the poor when they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.
All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Lk4:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.1Tim3:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory to you, O Christ,
proclaimed to the pagans;
glory to you, O Christ,
believed in by the world.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt4:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The people that lived in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death
a light has dawned.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Mt4:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of diseases among the people.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk7:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 6:45-52 |
His disciples saw him walking on the lake
After the five thousand had eaten and were filled, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away. After saying goodbye to them he went off into the hills to pray. When evening came, the boat was far out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. He could see they were worn out with rowing, for the wind was against them; and about the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on the lake. He was going to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the lake they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they had all seen him and were terrified. But he at once spoke to them, and said, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind dropped. They were utterly and completely dumbfounded, because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed.
REFLECTING THE FACE OF CHRIST TO HUMANITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 JN 4:11-18; MK 6:45-52]
St John Paul II, in his apostolic letter at the beginning of the New Millennium, wrote, “We wish to see Jesus” (Jn12:21). This request, addressed to the Apostle Philip by some Greeks who had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover, echoes spiritually in our ears too. Like those pilgrims of two thousand years ago, the men and women of our own day — often perhaps unconsciously — ask believers not only to “speak” of Christ, but in a certain sense to “show” Him to them. And is it not the Church’s task to reflect the light of Christ in every historical period, to make His face shine also before the generations of the new millennium?” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 16)
But St John says, “No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another God will live in us and his love will be complete in us.” How, then, could we as His priests bring people to God, be the bridge between God and man, if we have never seen God? Seeing God, therefore, is a prerequisite for us to lead people to Him. We cannot give what we do not have. “And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit,” as Jesus said to His disciples.
What about the apostles of Jesus? They too did not see God face to face. However, they saw God in Christ Jesus. St John said, “We ourselves saw and we testify that the Father sent his Son as saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God.” Indeed, at the outset of his letter, John wrote, “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.” (1 Jn 1:1f). So the early Church saw God in Jesus, especially in His works, teaching, and most of all by His life, passion, death, and resurrection. Through faith in Jesus, they could say confidently, “We ourselves have known and put our faith in God’s love towards ourselves.” This is what the Feast of the Epiphany is celebrating: the manifestation of God in His Son Jesus.
However, we have not seen God, nor have we seen Jesus. So how can we declare to our followers, as the apostles did with so much confidence, “We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”? (1 Jn 1:3). For us, therefore, our recognition of God is through the love of God in us because of our faith in Jesus as the Son of God. St John wrote, “As long as we love one another God will live in us and his love will be complete in us. We can know that we are living in him and he is living in us because he lets us share his Spirit.” Our knowledge of God, therefore, comes from the fact that we share in His Spirit. In other words, we know that God is real through our ministry in His name.
I am sure all of us in different ways have marvelled at how the Lord works through us, earthen vessels, as St Paul described our ministry. Still, people see God’s face in our ministry, especially if we are humble and generous in our service. In fact, for those of us serving in ministry, we are more privileged than others to experience His power at work in our lives and in our ministry. When we look at ourselves and the work we do in His name, we are surprised that many people come to faith in Him through our teaching and our ministering. Many are converted, and many have received healing, consolation, and hope through us. Many more are brought to God and experience His love and mercy because of our ministry. But when we consider our own limitations, we know that it is God working in and through us, not that we are so capable and powerful ourselves.
The second way we come to know that Jesus is Lord and experience His love is through the difficult moments in our ministry. We can identify with how the disciples of Jesus must have felt when they were in the boat, fighting against the strong wind. Jesus was not with them. Sometimes, in our ministry, we face many frustrations because we cannot get a project moving, because there is too much disagreement among our collaborators, or because of a lack of resources and finances. At times, we also face our own physical and mental limitations due to health issues. When we feel that we have failed, we often think that God is not with us. God seems to be so far away in such moments. We feel helpless and powerless against the odds facing us. Some of us even succumb to despair and give up ministry.
The Gospel reminds us that, in such moments, Christ is even more present in our life and ministry than we think. God is with us in times of trial and temptations. God is watching over us. Although the disciples thought that Jesus was not with them, He was watching over them while He was on land. He never took His eyes off the disciples. And so, as they were battling against the wind, “about the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on the lake. He was going to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the lake they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they had all seen him and were terrified.”
Indeed, we see what fear can do to us. We begin to conjure images that are not real. The disciples could not recognise Jesus in their fear, and worst of all, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But the Lord assured them saying, “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.” We should not fear any longer when the Lord manifests Himself to us. “Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind dropped.” When Jesus was with them, calm returned to the sea. Clearly, Jesus is manifested as the Lord of nature. He has power to calm the storms. He has the power to multiply bread for the five thousand. Unfortunately, the disciples, in spite of what they saw, were still unenlightened. It had not yet occurred to them the real identity of Jesus. The evangelist noted, “They were utterly and completely dumbfounded, because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed.”
Perhaps this is true for us as well. If we fail to recognise the presence of God in our lives and in times of trial, it is because we have not understood the events in our lives or read them in the light of faith. God wants us to grow even stronger through our trials. Through all our experiences, the Lord wants to show us His presence and His care. Indeed, when we consider all the trials in our lives that we have gone through, and how we have managed to pull through those difficult times and challenging situations, we will come to know that it is not our own strength or ingenuity alone, but solely His grace that has been with us. We need to open the eyes of our minds and hearts in faith to see how much the Lord has shown Himself to us in many ways – ways we do not always recognise – just like the disciples of our Lord.
Above all, we experience the depth of God’s love when we no longer live in fear. “Love will come to its perfection in us when we can face the day of Judgement without fear; because even in this world we have become as he is. In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love: because to fear is to expect punishment, and anyone who is afraid still is imperfect in love.” Indeed, we know that we have truly loved God and our fellowmen when we live with a clear conscience, knowing that we have done all we could possibly do as human beings, and as for the rest, we rely on the love and mercy of God. When our love for God is perfect, there is nothing to fear even at our deathbed, because His love is in our hearts. When we love someone, we do not fear the person. When we love God, we do not fear Him. Fear is present only to one who do not know God or have not loved Him. This explains why those who have lived selfish and evil lives are fearful of death and judgement – they cannot face themselves, and they cannot face God.
So, as we contemplate on the face of God in Jesus during this season of Epiphany, we are called to reflect the face of Jesus in our lives and in our ministry. Let us ground ourselves in the love of God first before we engage in ministry. We must not use our own strength alone and our human ingenuity to do God’s work, because we will suffer fatigue like the apostles in times of trial and difficulties. When our faith fails, we become disillusioned and fall into despair. But if we grow in intimacy with our Lord first, before we embark on our ministry, then we will be able to remain calm in the face of challenges – because our conscience is clear, because we are motivated by God’s love, and because we are not worried about the judgment of others. So long as we have done all that we possibly could, we should surrender everything else into the hands of God. As the responsorial psalm says, “O God, give your judgement to the king, to a king’s son your justice, that he may judge your people in justice and your poor in right judgement.” God will see to our needs. He will know how to judge and help us accordingly.
We must learn from Jesus, who was always in deep communion with His Father. We are told, “After the five thousand had eaten and were filled, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away. After saying good-bye to them he went off into the hills to pray.” Jesus never got carried away by His ministry. He spent time in the hills alone, praying to His Father. He did not spend time with His disciples to celebrate the great success of feeding the five thousand. Rather, He withdrew all by Himself to bask in the love of His Father. It is in the quiet presence of God that we find strength and courage in our ministry. Maintaining a loving relationship and intimacy with our Lord is the key to living in the presence of His love and His joy. In this way, we will always remain calm and tranquil in good and bad. St John Paul II warned us, “Our witness, however, would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated his face. Our gaze is more than ever firmly set on the face of the Lord.” (NMI 16)
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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