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 97(98):1-4
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.
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Witness to Christ
In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist was asked by the priests and Levites from Jerusalem, “Who are you?” John the Baptist was secure in his identity. He knew that He was not Christ, Elijah or the Prophet. Instead, John identified himself as a witness to Christ, a voice pointing others to Jesus so that they, too, could encounter Him.
John the Baptist serves as a model for us to follow. By virtue of our baptism, we are called to lead others to Christ through our words, actions and choices we make. There are people around us who may be starting their day burdened by loneliness, fear and various problems. We can be the ones to bring them the good news that God is with us, He is at the centre of our lives, and is the source of our hope and joy.
Reflective question:
How can I bear witness to Christ through my faith?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD
