20250102 KEEP ALIVE WHAT YOU WERE TAUGHT IN THE BEGINNING
02 January 2025, Thursday
First reading | 1 John 2:22-28 |
The anointing he gave you teaches you everything
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):1-4 |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | 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!
Or: | 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 | John 1:19-28 |
'One is coming after me who existed before me'
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.
KEEP ALIVE WHAT YOU WERE TAUGHT IN THE BEGINNING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 JOHN 2:22-28; JOHN 1:19-28]
We are at the start of the New Year. It is not enough to begin the year well, but we must ensure that we end it well. To ensure that we stay on track, we must go back to the beginnings of our faith. What is it that will safeguard us from walking the wrong path, especially when we live in a world of moral relativism, a narrow view of individualism, and an exaggerated view of human rights, towards the destruction of the unity and the common good of humanity? The selfishness promoted by the world today is not just an individual selfishness but also a racial, religious, and nationalistic ambition, when we no longer care for our neighbours who are suffering, or those who are living in poverty and suffering violence and injustice. Today, there is a growing trend away from globalization towards an exclusive view of others, by over- emphasizing nationalism and protecting one’s own interests, as if the happiness, prosperity, peace and justice outside our community or our country are not important.
Indeed, for the Son of God to come to earth and be incarnated as Jesus in our midst, shows that God wants us to be inclusive. As the Lord says, “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) God desires all of humanity to be saved. We are all important to Him. St John wrote, “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) St Paul urges us, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.” (1 Tim 2:1-5) The letter of Hebrews tells us that “the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, ‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.'” (Heb 2:11f)
Consequently, if we are to walk in truth and love, we must recognize Jesus as the Christ. St John told the Christians, “The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ – he is the liar; he is Antichrist.” This is why in the gospel, when John appeared as a witness, the Jews who were waiting anxiously for the Messiah to come “sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?'” When John the Baptist denied that he was the Christ. They were not contented because they saw in John the Baptist someone sent by God. So they said, “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.” So they were preoccupied with the possibility that John the Baptist could be the Messiah, or the Elijah who was to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.
But it is important to take note of what John the Baptist said when they asked him, “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.” The role of John the Baptist was simply to prepare the way for the Lord to enter into our lives. “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:28-30) His task was simply to remove the obstacles that prevent us from recognizing and receiving the Messiah. This is why his message was a message of repentance. It was a call to repent from our sins, especially our complacency and a narrow understanding of being the chosen people of God. “When he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Mt 3:7-10)
What does it mean to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ? To say that Jesus is the Christ is more than just saying that He is the Anointed One of God and the Messiah. Even St Peter confessed rightly in Caesarea Philippi that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But he got the meaning wrong. He could not accept the passion that our Lord was to go through as the Messiah. (cf Mt 16:13-23) It is to accept that He is the Son of God, the personal representative of the Father. As St John wrote, anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ, “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.”
Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God is the way in which we encounter the Father in person. If Jesus is not the Messiah and the Son of God, He would not be able to show us the face of the Father. He would not be able to identify with whatever He said or did with the Father. Because He is the Son of the Father, He could therefore claim, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes.” (Jn 5:19-21)
If this is what we truly believe about Christ, then we will accept His words as truth and life. This was what the Lord told the Samaritan woman. “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (Jn 4:23f) The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” (Jn 4:25-26) Truly, we must therefore confess in Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life. (Jn 14:6)
This confession of faith must concretely be seen in the way we accept His Words as truth and not compromise the Word of God or dilute it to suit the world. This is why St John wrote, “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.” St Paul also urged the Christian community, “the coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” (2 Th 2:9f)
To ensure that we stay in the truth, we need to build our lives on the Word of God, and to live in Christ through the Word and the Sacraments given to the Church. St John exhorts us, “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.” As Church we have received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We must therefore be united with the Church so that we remain true to our faith in Christ. St Paul reminds us that this is “how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.” (1 Tim 3:15)
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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