20260105 TESTING THE SPIRITS
05 January 2026, Monday After Epiphany Sunday
First reading | 1 John 3:22-4:6 |
The Son of God has come and given us the power to know the true God
Whatever we ask God,
we shall receive,
because we keep his commandments
and live the kind of life that he wants.
His commandments are these:
that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and that we love one another
as he told us to.
Whoever keeps his commandments
lives in God and God lives in him.
We know that he lives in us
by the Spirit that he has given us.
It is not every spirit, my dear people, that you can trust;
test them, to see if they come from God,
there are many false prophets, now, in the world.
You can tell the spirits that come from God by this:
every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh
is from God;
but any spirit which will not say this of Jesus
is not from God,
but is the spirit of Antichrist,
whose coming you were warned about.
Well, now he is here, in the world.
Children,
you have already overcome these false prophets,
because you are from God and you have in you
one who is greater than anyone in this world;
as for them, they are of the world,
and so they speak the language of the world
and the world listens to them.
But we are children of God,
and those who know God listen to us;
those who are not of God refuse to listen to us.
This is how we can tell
the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 2:7-8,10-11 |
I will give you the nations for your heritage.
The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you this day.
Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,
put the ends of the earth in your possession.’
I will give you the nations for your heritage.
Now, O kings, understand,
take warning, rulers of the earth;
serve the Lord with awe
and trembling, pay him your homage.
I will give you the nations for your heritage.
Gospel Acclamation | 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: | Lk4:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk7:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
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!
Gospel |
Matthew 4:12-17,23-25 |
The people that lived in darkness have seen a great light
Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:
‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan,
Galilee of the nations!
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.’
From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people. His fame spread throughout Syria, and those who were suffering from diseases and painful complaints of one kind or another, the possessed, epileptics, the paralysed, were all brought to him, and he cured them. Large crowds followed him, coming from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judaea and Transjordania.
TESTING THE SPIRITS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1JN 3:22-4:6; MT 4:12-17, 23-25]
In the time of the apostolic Church, there was already division within the community regarding the confession of faith in Jesus. The main point of contention centred on faith in Jesus as the Christ and the acknowledgment of His Incarnation. Acceptance of these twin beliefs determined whether one possessed the Spirit of Christ or the spirit of the Anti-Christ. Rejection of Jesus as the Christ and of His coming in the flesh was considered the ultimate heresy. At its heart, the issue was a Christological dispute concerning the human nature of Jesus. What we read in John’s letter marked only the beginning of Christological controversies in the first four centuries, which were eventually clarified in the early Councils of the Church. John wrote, “You can tell the spirits that come from God by this: every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh is from God; but any spirit which will not say this of Jesus is not from God, but is the spirit of Antichrist, whose coming you are warned about. Well, now he is here, in the world.”
Why was it so important for the early Church to insist on the reality of the Incarnation? If Jesus were not truly man, sharing our human condition, then He cannot be an example for us in life, because we can easily say we are not God. It follows, then, that Jesus could be our High Priest who opens the way to God, since, as the writer to the Hebrews says, the true High Priest must be able to sympathise with our weaknesses and must have been tested like us in every way. (Heb 4:15) Jesus can truly be our Saviour only because He is identified with us. Although He is God, He saved us through His humanity by leading us on the way to salvation. Again, the letter of Hebrews says, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb 5:7-10)
Today, Christians might not dispute that Jesus is man, but some are afraid to say that He is God. Sometimes, I am not even sure whether all Christians truly believe in the divinity of our Lord. We tend to present Him as one among the founders of religion, a great teacher, or a man who died for others. But we are often less forthcoming in confessing that Jesus is the Son of God – either out of respect for other religions or for fear of being labelled triumphalist or exclusive. Indeed, the real heresy is in not accepting the divinity of Christ. This is what is happening in the world today, when Jesus is reduced to a social reformer and is no longer seen and proclaimed as the Son of God. As in the time of John, some Christians today no longer confess that Christ in Jesus was from God, but only that He was merely a God-inspired, insightful, and holy man. This was also the case of the Jews during the time of Jesus. They could accept Him as a teacher, but for Jesus to identify Himself with God was regarded as blasphemy. It is ironic that before His resurrection, the Jews had difficulties believing that Jesus is God; yet in the early Church, they had difficulties believing that He is truly man.
By compromising our faith and beliefs in Christ, we are not doing anyone any good. We are not helping to strengthen our faith in Christ; in fact, we are diluting the belief that Jesus is divine. On the other hand, we are misrepresenting our faith to others regarding what and whom we believe. This will not help them understand us better or appreciate our beliefs. True inter-religious dialogue requires us to be true to our faith claims without imposing them on others, while always respecting the beliefs of others. But it does not mean that we need to compromise our beliefs to gain respect or acceptance. Faith is ultimately a gift from God, not something we can make happen on our own.
In the Gospel, Jesus therefore sought to give credibility to His claims that He is the Messiah and the Son of God. “He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people. His fame spread throughout Syria, and those who were suffering from diseases and painful complaints of one kind or another, the possessed, epileptics, the paralysed, were all brought to him, and he cured them.” In His healing miracles and work of exorcism, Jesus showed that He is identified with us in our bondage to sin, illnesses, and other forms of oppression. As Lord, He comes to set us free from sin and its consequences.
To justify that Jesus is truly the promised Messiah, St Matthew refers to the text from Isaiah 9:1f, which we read at the Christmas Midnight Mass: “Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali! Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan, Galilee of the nations! The people that lived on darkness has seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.” In the original context of the prophecy of Isaiah, reference is made to the coming of the righteous King from the House of David: “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa 9:6)
Truly, Jesus, who called Himself the Light of the World, has come to enlighten humanity and to give us hope in life, even when it is difficult. He has come to set us free by calling to us repentance. Happiness in life is more than just being physically healthy; we must also be emotionally, psychologically and spiritually sound. Physical health is but a means to keeping the soul, the mind and the heart in order. This is why, even if our health is not great, so long we are spiritually and emotionally well, we can find happiness. This is what St John means when he wrote, “Whatever we ask God, we shall receive, because we keep his commandments and live the kind of life that he wants. His commandments are these: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another as he told us to. Whoever keeps his commandments lives in God and God lives in him. We know that he lives in us by the Spirit that he has given us.” Indeed, those of us who profess to know Christ but do not live like Him should question our profession of faith. Living the life of Christ is what gives us life and joy. This is ultimately the acid test of whether our faith in Christ is real and on the right path.
But this is so only because we believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. Unless we place our faith in Him, in His words and in His teaching, we will not be able to share fully in His life. When our faith in Jesus weakens, our commitment to the Word of God and to the life that Jesus lived is also compromised. In our times, the challenge is not just a denial of the Incarnation, but also of the divine origin of Jesus and His role as the Redeemer and Saviour. We no longer accept the Bible as the Word of God as it is; instead, we use the excuse of context to modify the teaching of Scripture to suit our selfish needs, rather than submitting our lives to God’s kingship. This is what is happening today, when false prophets of our days compromise the Word of God and influence the Church. Consequently, we must test the spirits, just as the community of St John did. Unless those who teach us truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the Word of God, we cannot take Scripture – and His teaching – seriously. Let us not compromise the truth of His words, even when they are difficult to accept. Instead, we should be challenged to conform our lives to His teaching, rather than accommodating the Word of God to our preferences.
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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