Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together: 2021

Friday 31 December 2021

PEACE PRESUPPOSES WE SEE THE FACE OF GOD IN MAN

20220101 PEACE PRESUPPOSES WE SEE THE FACE OF GOD IN MAN

01 January, 2022, Saturday, Mary, Mother of God

First reading

Numbers 6:22-27 ©

They are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them

The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Say this to Aaron and his sons: “This is how you are to bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.”

This is how they are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 66(67):2-3,5,6,8 ©

O God, be gracious and bless us.

O God, be gracious and bless us

and let your face shed its light upon us.

So will your ways be known upon earth

and all nations learn your saving help.

O God, be gracious and bless us.

Let the nations be glad and exult

for you rule the world with justice.

With fairness you rule the peoples,

you guide the nations on earth.

O God, be gracious and bless us.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you.

May God still give us his blessing

till the ends of the earth revere him.

O God, be gracious and bless us.

Second reading

Galatians 4:4-7 ©

God sent his Son, born of a woman

When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons. The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.

Gospel Acclamation

Heb1:1-2

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!

Gospel

Luke 2:16-21 ©

The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found the baby lying in the manger

The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.

When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.

PEACE PRESUPPOSES WE SEE THE FACE OF GOD IN MAN

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [NUMBERS 6:22-27; GALATIANS 4:4-7; LUKE 2:16-21]

Today, we celebrate New Year’s Day. Pope Paul VI in 1967 established that the Church celebrates this day as a world day of peace. But we also celebrate this day as the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. One wonders why the Church commemorates this 1^st day of the calendar year with three events, one secular, one moral and the other religious. What is the unifying thread that runs through the celebration of these events? It is the work for peace.

Indeed, what the world needs most today is peace. Everyone in this world seeks peace. Without peace, there can be no joy or happiness or security. When the world is fighting, when there is division in the country, at home or at work, we live in fear and suspicion of each other. We feel unsafe to go out or even to work. We are not confident of tomorrow or our future because when there is fighting, jealousy, competition, or resentment, instead of living with friends around us, we see each other as enemies.

But if the world is so divided and so many crimes are committed each day in our country, it is because man’s heart is not at peace. The song “Let there be peace on earth” says that peace must begin with each person before it can be shared with others. Humanity has no peace within himself. He has a divided heart because his mind is contaminated with lust, greed, anger, resentment and envy. He wants more of everything but nothing in this world can satisfy him. As an individual, he seeks power, glory, wealth. As a country, some leaders seek to be the most powerful, most advanced in technology, in arms, in economic strength so that they can control and manipulate other nations, all because of insecurity. Instead of promoting multilateralism, the common good of humanity, shared wealth and prosperity for all, they seek to destroy their competitors and dominate weaker nations so that they can remain the most powerful nations in the world. When we are exclusive and only think of ourselves, it leads to hostility, unhealthy competition, fear and tension.

But why do people and nations regard each other as enemies when we are all one humanity, one people sharing one planet, all have a common destiny, all desiring peace, unity, progress and growth? It is simply because we do not recognize the dignity of the human person. We see each other simply as things to be made use of for our pleasure, convenience, benefits and interests. They are used and then discarded like the rest of our possessions. We do not value human beings as different from our worldly possessions and interests. This is because we fail to see the special role of human beings in the world, the special place it occupies in creation. This explains why people can kill each other, why wars are conducted with many innocent victims killed in the process, and many soldiers die leaving their loved ones to grieve, why men can rape and molest women and children, why people can cheat, slander and hurt each other.

If humanity fails to respect their fellowmen, it is because they have not seen the face of God. Secularism and materialism reduce man to a level where we are no longer distinguished from other creatures or creation. We are seen as constituted only of matter and when we die, we are just reduced to dust and go back as atoms in the atmosphere. We do not believe that we are created by God or that we have an eternal soul that lives on. If one is not happy with life, one just needs to end it. There is no real purpose on this earth except to enjoy as much as we can, accumulate money and power for our security, because we will eventually die. So life must be enjoyed to the full, and one should not be concerned about tomorrow as we will no longer be around. Each generation must solve their own problems, just as we solve our own problems. There is no future for humanity except for today. We try to keep ourselves happy on earth, but we are without peace.

For this reason, the first reading explains how Moses invoked peace for Israel. God said to Moses, “Say this to Aaron and his sons: ‘This is how you are to bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.’ This is how they are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.” It is a prayer for peace. But it is significant that Moses twice referred to the face of God as either shining on us or uncovered for us as a requirement to bring us peace. Clearly, therefore, there can be no peace unless man comes to know God who is His creator and the source of peace.

True peace is possible only when man is at peace with God first and foremost. From the peace that he enjoys with God, he will then find peace in his heart and in his soul. When he is no longer tossed by the temptations of the world and the evil one, when his heart is at rest and when his mind no longer craves for more and more, he will then be able to conduct his affairs and relationship with his fellowmen decently and justly. We cannot give peace to others when our hearts are full of anger and hatred, selfishness and greed. When we learn to let go of our possessions and seek union with God, we will find that peace within our hearts. As St Augustine says, “our hearts are restless until they rest in God.”

For us to see God face to face we have Jesus who is the image and likeness of God in person. In the Old Testament, it is said that one cannot see God and live. When Moses asked God to show him His glory, the Lord said, “But you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” And the Lord continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.” (Ex 33:2-23)

But thanks to Jesus, we can see the face of God in and through His humanity. Jesus is our prince of peace. To see Him is to see the Father. (Jn 14:9) This is possible only because Jesus assumed our humanity through the Blessed Virgin Mary. As St Paul said, “When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons.” Jesus who was born of the Blessed Virgin is truly God and truly man. In Jesus, therefore, we see God in person. Jesus is not two persons but one person with two natures, divine and human, both distinguished, unmixed and undivided. This is possible only because of the fact that the Second Person of the Trinity took flesh in the womb of Mary, our Blessed Mother. It is for this reason that the Church declares Mary to be the Mother of God, since in Jesus there is only one person. Mary cannot be just the mother of Jesus the human person, or just the mother of the human nature of Jesus. Jesus is one person with two natures. This is what the Church wants to affirm in calling Mary the Mother of God in the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.

If God’s face is in us, human beings, it means therefore, as St Paul says, “The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, “Abba, Father”, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave anymore; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.” If we are all sons of God, the implication therefore is that we must treat our brothers and sisters with deep respect and dignity because they are the face of God. We cannot treat human beings as if they are things or our possessions to use, manipulate and destroy. We must promote peace among all peoples regardless of race, language, religion, culture or nationality. We are all equal and important in the eyes of God because we have a common identity, namely, we are children of God. We have a common Father, a common family, a common destiny to be with our Father together with the rest of humanity at the end of time. This is the basis for peace, knowing that we are all called to be one people, one family of God. With this in mind, we seek to promote peace, goodwill and love among all peoples, remove sufferings and poverty from the face of the earth, protect our environment so that there will be a future of the rest of humanity, and most of all, help each other to rediscover our dignity as God’s children in Christ.

Thursday 30 December 2021

THE END IS THE BEGINNING

20211231 THE END IS THE BEGINNING

31 December, 2021, Friday, 7th Day Within the Octave of Christmas

First reading

1 John 2:18-21 ©

You have been anointed by the Holy One

Children, these are the last days;

you were told that an Antichrist must come,

and now several antichrists have already appeared;

we know from this that these are the last days.

Those rivals of Christ came out of our own number, but they had never really belonged;

if they had belonged, they would have stayed with us;

but they left us, to prove that not one of them

ever belonged to us.

But you have been anointed by the Holy One,

and have all received the knowledge.

It is not because you do not know the truth that I am writing to you

but rather because you know it already

and know that no lie can come from the truth.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 95(96):1-2,11-13 ©

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.

O sing a new song to the Lord,

sing to the Lord all the earth.

O sing to the Lord, bless his name.

Proclaim his help day by day,

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,

let the sea and all within it thunder praise,

let the land and all it bears rejoice,

all the trees of the wood shout for joy

at the presence of the Lord for he comes,

he comes to rule the earth.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.

With justice he will rule the world,

he will judge the peoples with his truth.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.

Gospel Acclamation

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!

Or:

Jn1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

To all who received him he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 1:1-18 ©

The Word was made flesh, and lived among us

In the beginning was the Word:

and the Word was with God

and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things came to be,

not one thing had its being but through him.

All that came to be had life in him

and that life was the light of men,

a light that shines in the dark,

a light that darkness could not overpower.

A man came, sent by God.

His name was John.

He came as a witness,

as a witness to speak for the light,

so that everyone might believe through him.

He was not the light,

only a witness to speak for the light.

The Word was the true light

that enlightens all men;

and he was coming into the world.

He was in the world

that had its being through him,

and the world did not know him.

He came to his own domain

and his own people did not accept him.

But to all who did accept him

he gave power to become children of God,

to all who believe in the name of him

who was born not out of human stock

or urge of the flesh

or will of man

but of God himself.

The Word was made flesh,

he lived among us,

and we saw his glory,

the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father,

full of grace and truth.

John appears as his witness. He proclaims:

‘This is the one of whom I said:

He who comes after me ranks before me

because he existed before me.’

Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received –

yes, grace in return for grace,

since, though the Law was given through Moses,

grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God;

it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart,

who has made him known.

THE END IS THE BEGINNING

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 JOHN 2:18-21; JOHN 1:1-18]

Today, we come to the end of the calendar year. It is the last day of the year. This is why the reading is taken from St John’s letter when he spoke of the last days. Very often, we talk of the last day as if it is the end of everything. In truth, it depends on how one sees it. It is like light and darkness as St John spoke about in the gospel. When the light shines, darkness ceases. So too when the last day is reached, it means the beginning of something new. So the last day is not truly the last but it means the beginning of a new chapter. The old must give way to the new.

In the gospel, we have Jesus who is the beginning of a new era. St John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” In calling Jesus the Word, the Logos, St John was combining Greek Philosophy with the Christian understanding of Jesus as the Incarnate Word of God. For the Greeks, they believed that in the midst of the changing realities of life, it is the Logos that keeps all things in order. The logos is the mind of God and it holds the universe with all its laws in place. Jesus in John’s gospel is appropriately that Logos, the second person of the Trinity who was with God the Father.

Jesus is the beginning of everything in creation. “Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him. All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower.” St Paul in a similar vein came to the same conclusion about our Lord. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col 1:15-17)

Unfortunately, along the way, man lost his bearing. Although created in the image and likeness of God through Christ Jesus, he fell into sin and lived in darkness. Since then the world lives in blindness and unable to see the light clearly. God sent witnesses to bear the light of revelation to the people through prophets and wise leaders, but they were merely spokesmen of God. They themselves were not the light, just like John the Baptist. Indeed, St John wrote, “A man came, sent by God. His name was John. He came as a witness, as a witness to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, only a witness to speak for the light.”

But the last days came to an end when Christ came into the world. He is the beginning of a new age. The old age has passed. This explains why the calendar we have is basically a Christian calendar departing from the birth of Christ. Before the rise of secularism, the history of the world was divided into two age, “Before Christ” and “Anno Domini, the Year of our Lord.” Such is the clear demarcation that Christ’s coming brought to the history of humanity. Indeed, John declares, “The Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world.” Jesus is the beginning of the New Covenant, the New Testament. Jesus is the fullness of the revelation of the Father. “The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John appears as his witness. He proclaims: ‘This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me ranks before me because he existed before me.’ Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received – yes, grace in return for grace, since, though the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”

In Jesus, we are living in the last days of the Christian era once again, waiting for the consummation of the world. Vatican II in Dei Verbum sums up this beautifully. “Then, after speaking in many and varied ways through the prophets, ‘now at last in these days God has spoken to us in His Son’ (Heb. 1:1-2). For He sent His Son, the eternal Word, who enlightens all men, so that He might dwell among men and tell them of the innermost being of God (see Jn 1:1-18). Jesus Christ, therefore, the Word made flesh, was sent as ‘a man to men.’ He “speaks the words of God” (Jn 3;34), and completes the work of salvation which His Father gave Him to do (see Jn 5:36; 17:4). To see Jesus is to see His Father (Jn 14:9).” (DV 4)

How do we know for sure that Jesus is the fullness of God and not just a man? Vatican II teaches, “For this reason, Jesus perfected revelation by fulfilling it through his whole work of making Himself present and manifesting Himself: through His words and deeds, His signs and wonders, but especially through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth. Moreover, He confirmed with divine testimony what revelation proclaimed, that God is with us to free us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to life eternal. The Christian dispensation, therefore, as the new and definitive covenant, will never pass away and we now await no further new public revelation before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 Tim. 6:14 and Tit. 2:13).” (Ibid, 4)

The question is whether we accept the fullness of this doctrine of the person of our Lord, truly God and truly human. Unless we accept the true doctrine of our Lord, we cannot claim that we know God or that we are saved through Him. Once again, St John wrote, “He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him. But to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh or will of man but of God himself.” It is in Christ through His death and resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit that we could share in His sonship when we accept His forgiveness and walk in the life of the Holy Spirit, imitating Him in life and in death. Christ who reveals to us the heart and mercy of God empowers us to share in His divine life through the grace of the Holy Spirit. So in Christ we have a new beginning, provided we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. He is the light that enlightens all men.

In the first reading, when St John spoke about the last days, he was not speaking so much about a chronological last day. Rather, he was speaking about the decisive hour that has arrived. St John was telling the Christians that they had to make a choice in following the Christ that has been taught by the apostles. The real Christ is the one that has been passed down to them through the teaching of the apostles. Any distortion of the person and identity of Christ would end up denying Christ and the Father. This was because there were some Christians who were influenced by Gnosticism. They believed that salvation was through some special, advanced knowledge given through mysticism for one to know God. Furthermore, they denied the full humanity of our Lord. This resulted in a distortion of the true Christ and the means to find salvation.

In the light of the division brought about by heretical teaching, St John with great sadness, and yet with firmness declared, “Those rivals of Christ came out of our own number, but they had never really belonged; if they had belonged, they would have stayed with us; but they left us, to prove that not one of them ever belonged to us.” Indeed, the division in the early church should give us some consolation when we think of a fragmented Church today with so many Christian denominations. There are so many disagreements among different churches and Christian communities. Even within the same denomination, trying to find unity is a great challenge because everyone thinks differently and have their own take in everything. This is why it is necessary to be one with the Church in thinking and in believing. St John says. “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and have all received the knowledge.” This is the clear teaching of the Church, “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.” (Lumen Gentium, 12) Only when we are in fellowship with the Church can we walk in the way of truth.

Wednesday 29 December 2021

CHRIST SAVES THE WORLD FROM WORLDLINESS

20211230 CHRIST SAVES THE WORLD FROM WORLDLINESS

30 December, 2021, Thursday, 6th Day Within the Octave of Christmas

First reading

1 John 2:12-17 ©

Observance of the will of God

I am writing to you, my own children,

whose sins have already been forgiven through his name;

I am writing to you, fathers,

who have come to know the one

who has existed since the beginning;

I am writing to you, young men,

who have already overcome the Evil One;

I have written to you, children,

because you already know the Father;

I have written to you, fathers,

because you have come to know the one

who has existed since the beginning;

I have written to you, young men,

because you are strong and God’s word has made its home in you,

and you have overcome the Evil One.

You must not love this passing world

or anything that is in the world.

The love of the Father cannot be

in any man who loves the world,

because nothing the world has to offer

– the sensual body,

the lustful eye,

pride in possessions –

could ever come from the Father

but only from the world;

and the world, with all it craves for,

is coming to an end;

but anyone who does the will of God

remains for ever.

Responsorial Psalm

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.

Give the Lord, you families of peoples,

give the Lord glory and power;

give the Lord the glory of his name.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.

Bring an offering and enter his courts,

worship the Lord in his temple.

O earth, tremble before him.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.

Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’

The world he made firm in its place;

he will judge the peoples in fairness.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.

Gospel Acclamation

Heb1:1-2

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!

Or:

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!

Gospel

Anna speaks of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem

There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.

CHRIST SAVES THE WORLD FROM WORLDLINESS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 John 2:12-17; Ps 96:7-10; Luke 2:36-40]

We are still in the Octave of Christmas and drawing out the implications of the incarnation. In Christ’s birth, God has assumed the world into Himself by sharing in our humanity through His Son, who is truly God and truly man. It means that the world is sanctified and sacred in the eyes of God. This is what St John wrote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) Indeed, God loves His creation, the universe and all creatures with human beings as the summit of His creation. He intended the world to reflect His beauty. Even Jesus Himself admired creation. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.” (Mt 6:28f) Hence, St John in his fight against Docetism and Gnosticism, where matter is considered evil and only the spirit or the soul is good, and therefore Jesus was not considered to be truly man, he had to underscore the reality of the incarnation and insist that matter is good and sanctified.

However, in life, there is always the danger of going to the extreme. On one hand, we should not disdain the created world; but on the other hand, we cannot go to the extreme by being so part of the world, so attached to it that we lose our autonomy and independence. In other words, we fall into worldliness. We are possessed by the world. We are so enticed by the world that instead of dominating the world and being good stewards of God’s gifts in creation, we become slaves of the world. This is the theme of today’s scripture reading, that our love for God’s creation should not lead us to worldliness.

When St John said that God so loved the world, what he meant was that God loves His creation but in St John’s writing the world could also mean the inordinate spirit towards the world. In other words, the world in its material sense is neutral. It can be used for good or it can be used for evil. In truth, after each day of creation, the author remarked, “God saw it was good.” (Gn 1:10,12,18,21). He concluded the creation account by saying, “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (Gn 1:31) God also gave the authority to man as well to be His stewards, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Gn 1:28)

So what makes creation bad is man’s attitude towards creation. We have been enticed by creation. This is what St John warned us, “You must not love this passing world or anything that is in the world. The love of the Father cannot be in any man who loves the world, because nothing the world has to offer – the sensual body, the lustful eye, pride in possessions – could ever come from the Father.” When we begin to possess the world, we become slaves to the world. We are possessed by what we seek to possess. To love the world is not wrong in itself but to let the world, its beauty and pleasure get our full attention would be to see the world in a wrong perspective. The truth, as St John reminds us, is that that this world is passing. The pleasures, the achievements, the glory that we attain in this life will end with our death. Nothing in this world can give us full satisfaction.

This is why the Lord warns us. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt 6:19-21) Hence, the stark truth is this, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Mt 6:24) Worldliness is when we make the world our gods and we worship the world instead of using the world to glorify God and serve His people.

Consequently, we must avoid the three sources of temptation that would lead us astray from our focus in life. Firstly, we must not succumb to the flesh, the desires of the sensual body. This is not simply a question of the sin of sexual lust, promiscuity and pornography. It refers to the desires of the human body for all kinds of pleasure, comfort, food, drinks, drugs and enjoyment. These desires do not last and the moment they are satisfied, the joy of the pleasure is over. What is even more dangerous is that excessive indulgence in such sensual pleasure will make us slaves to them through addiction. It can lead to the destruction of our physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual health. Often, it leads us to manipulate people for our own pleasures as well. If we do not discipline the body, we will become a slave of our body’s sensual desire.

Secondly, St John warns us of the lustful eye, that is, the attraction to beauty, accomplishments, wealth and things of the world. The lustful eye is that eye of envy, the desire to possess leading to greed, envy and resentment. All sins begin with the lustful eye. What we see, we desire to have. When we cannot have it, we will become ambitious and use every possible way including unscrupulous means to attain them. When we cannot get it, we will resort to cheating, gambling, engaging in immoral activities and illegal trades. Again, St John made it clear that beauty and things of this world cannot last and cannot make us happy. External beauty will give way to interior beauty. If our eyes can see only the external beauty, then we will always be frustrated because such things cannot bring us real happiness.

Thirdly, St John tells us that worldliness is the outcome of taking pride in possessions. Pride is always the downfall of those who think too highly of themselves, because of their position in society, their wealth, their power and influence. They think they are gods in control of people and the world. They do not need God and even if they worship God, it is just for people to see, but they pay lip service to God. They do not pray and they do not refer everything to God and examine whether they are using their gifts to serve God and their fellowmen selflessly and humbly. Those who become so arrogant because of their worldly success will one day have the biggest fall when they meet with tragedy, a terminal illness, broken relationships and collapse of their business, loss of reputation or even death.

Hence, St John exhorts us to stay focused by remembering three things. Firstly, we must know that God is the author of all that is good. He is the creator and “the one who has existed since the beginning.” He is the reference point of everything in life. Secondly, we must remember that God is not just the creator but He is our Father. He treats us as individuals and cares for our growth and sanctification. We are His children, as St John wrote, “I have written to you, children, because you already know the Father” and our “sins have already been forgiven through his name.” Confident of His love and grateful for His mercy, we want to continue to live as His true children in Christ. And finally, we must overcome the Evil One by remaining strong through God’s word finding a home in us. The Lord did say, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (Jn 14:23)

The prophetess Anna is an example of what it takes to remain faithful to God. She was a widow after just seven years into the marriage. She was now eighty-four years old. But she did not live a life of regret or resentment for being a widow. She did not blame God or fall into depression. She was detached from the world and able to let go of her deceased husband. This was because she clung to God. Since her husband’s death, she “never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer.” She found her true home in God’s house where she lived a life of simplicity, discipline, contemplation and prayer. She was at peace with herself. She found a larger community to support her in her aloneness. It was her prayerful disposition and her worship with her fellow Jews at the temple that gave us such peace, joy and love. She knew where her destiny lay and so when “she came by just at that moment and began to praise God; … she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.” She never lost hope in God’s deliverance and promise.