20180102
CONFESSING JESUS AS THE CHRIST
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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1 John 2:22-28 ©
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The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ –
he is the liar,
he is Antichrist;
and he is denying the Father as well as the Son,
because no one who has the Father can deny the Son,
and to acknowledge the Son is to have the Father as well.
Keep alive in yourselves what you were taught in the beginning:
as long as what you were taught in the beginning is alive in you,
you will live in the Son
and in the Father;
and what is promised to you by his own promise
is eternal life.
This is all that I am writing to you about the people who are
trying to lead you astray.
But you have not lost the anointing that he gave you,
and you do not need anyone to teach you;
the anointing he gave teaches you everything;
you are anointed with truth, not with a lie,
and as it has taught you, so you must stay in him.
Live in Christ, then, my children,
so that if he appears, we may have full confidence,
and not turn from him in shame
at his coming.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©
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All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn1:14,12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.
To all who received him he gave power to become children of God.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Heb1:1-2
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Alleluia, alleluia!
At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A hallowed day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, worship the Lord,
for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 1:19-28 ©
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This is how John appeared as a witness. When the Jews sent priests
and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ he not only declared, but
he declared quite openly, ‘I am not the Christ.’ ‘Well then,’ they asked ‘are
you Elijah?’ ‘I am not’ he said. ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ So
they said to him, ‘Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent
us. What have you to say about yourself?’ So John said, ‘I am, as Isaiah
prophesied:
a voice that cries in the wilderness:
Make a straight way for the Lord.’
Now these men had been sent by the Pharisees, and they put this
further question to him, ‘Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and
not Elijah, and not the prophet?’ John replied, ‘I baptise with water; but there
stands among you – unknown to you – the one who is coming after me;
and I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap.’ This happened at Bethany, on the
far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.
02 JANUARY, 2018, Tuesday, Weekday of Christmas Time
CONFESSING JESUS AS THE CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 JOHN 2:22-28; JOHN 1:19-28
]
Today, the
identity of Jesus is still on trial. Some think that Jesus is just a man, admittedly a great
man. He could be considered as one of the great prophets. This was how
His compatriots perceived him during His time. When Jesus asked His
disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” (Mk 8:27)
They answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one
of the prophets.” (Mk 8:28) Others might even believe that He was the
Messiah, the Anointed One of God. But this does not go far enough.
The
confession of the Christian about Jesus is nothing less than this declaration
of St Peter, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Mt 16:16)
Indeed, this is what St John sought to testify to us about Jesus. At the
end of the gospel, he concluded by saying, “Now Jesus did many other signs in
the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But
these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in
his name.” (Jn 20:30f)
Yesterday,
when we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, it was a feast not
so much in honour of our Blessed Mother but of Jesus who was truly born of the
Virgin Mary as man, even though He remained as God. In calling Mary the Mother
of God, the Church wants to affirm that the Word of God is made flesh in
Jesus. Jesus is one person who is truly divine and human. Jesus is
the Incarnate Word. Hence, it is proper to call Mary the Mother of God,
the Son who is divine and Jesus, the son of Mary. The person of Jesus is
therefore the Eternal Word who, after the incarnation, remains as one person
with two natures, divine and human.
For this
reason, any confession of Jesus’ identity that falls short of declaring that
Jesus is the God-Man in one person would compromise the identity of
Jesus. This explains why St John says in the first reading, “The
man who denies that Jesus is the Christ – he is the liar; he is Antichrist; and
he is denying the Father as well as the Son, because no one who has the Father
can deny the Son, and to acknowledge the Son is to have the Father as
well.” To deny that Jesus is the Anointed One of God, the Messiah
and the Son of the living God, would have far-reaching implications.
Denying the
divinity of Christ would mean that we do not know the Father. As St John wrote, “The
one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to
the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is
above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard. He whom God
has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without
measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his
hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever
disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.” (Jn 3:31,32, 34-36)
Jesus speaks the Word of the Father and is identified with Him. He
said to Philip, “ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is
in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who
dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the
Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works
themselves.” (Jn 14:10f)
And if we do
not know the Father, we also do not know our identity as His children. “See what love the
Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what
we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know
him.” (1 Jn 3:1) Only in Christ who is the Son of God can we
share in His sonship by adoption, not by nature.
“For all who
are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did
not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a
spirit of adoption.” (Rom 8:14f)
Jesus is the One who reveals to us our identity as sons and daughters of the
Father. Not only did He reveal to us our identity, He made it possible
for us to share in the life of the Father. St Paul wrote, “When we cry,
“Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of
God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we
may also be glorified with him.” (Rom 8:15-17)
How, then, do
we know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? St John the Baptist
gives us the answer. Only because Jesus Christ is the Anointed One of God
that He could anoint us with the Holy Spirit. That was why John the
Baptist said to the people, “I baptise with water; but there stands among you
– unknown to you – the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit
to undo his sandal strap.” St Mark elaborated further when he wrote, “I
have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit.” (Mk 1:8) We are able to believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the living God only because Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit.
This was His promise when He told the disciples before His departure from this
world. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom
the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know
him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” (Jn 14:16f)
Indeed, the
Holy Spirit will lead us to Him because He is the Spirit of Truth. All of
us who are anointed in the Holy Spirit will know that Jesus is Lord and God. “But you have not
lost the anointing that he gave you, and you do not need anyone to teach you;
the anointing he gave teaches you everything; you are anointed with truth, not
with a lie, and as it has taught you, so you must stay in him.” This
Spirit of Truth of course is given not primarily to the individuals but to the
Church at large under the guidance of the successors of the apostles.
“The entire body of the faithful, anointed as they are by the Holy One, cannot
err in matters of belief. They manifest this special property by means of the
whole peoples’ supernatural discernment in matters of faith when ‘from the
Bishops down to the last of the lay faithful’ they show universal agreement in
matters of faith and morals. That discernment in matters of faith is aroused
and sustained by the Spirit of truth. It is exercised under the guidance of the
sacred teaching authority, in faithful and respectful obedience to which the
people of God accepts that which is not just the word of men but truly the word
of God. Through it, the people of God adheres unwaveringly to the faith given
once and for all to the saints, penetrates it more deeply with right thinking,
and applies it more fully in its life.” (Lumen Gentium 12a)
Most of all,
we already have a foretaste of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us as a pledge of
our salvation. “In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of
the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward
redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.” (Eph 1:13f)
In the final
analysis, the real proof that we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of
the Living God is not by mere profession alone but by living the life of Christ
in us.
It is when we live in Jesus and He lives in us that we live the life of the
Spirit in us, “Keep alive in yourselves what you were taught in the
beginning: as long as what you were taught in the beginning is alive in you,
you will live in the Son and in the Father; and what is promised to you by his
own promise is eternal life. Live in Christ, then, my children, so that if he appears,
we may have full confidence, and not turn from him in shame at his coming.”
So let us
follow John the Baptist, seeking to point people to Christ the Son of the
Living God.
Sometimes we might appear to be that lone voice crying out in the wilderness,
but our task is to point people to Jesus. We must be careful not to
preach ourselves and make ourselves the focal point in our witnessing for
Christ. Like John the Baptist, we must decrease so that He might
increase. We are called to lead others to Him so that others can say,
“The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the
nations. He has remembered his truth and love for the house of
Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth, ring out your joy.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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