Jan 4 2025

First reading 1 John 3:7-10

No-one sins who has been begotten by God

My children, do not let anyone lead you astray:

to live a holy life

is to be holy just as he is holy;

to lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil,

since the devil was a sinner from the beginning.

It was to undo all that the devil has done

that the Son of God appeared.

No one who has been begotten by God sins;

because God’s seed remains inside him,

he cannot sin when he has been begotten by God.

In this way we distinguish the children of God

from the children of the devil:

anybody not living a holy life

and not loving his brother

is no child of God’s.

Responsorial Psalm 97(98):1,7-9

All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy before the Lord.
All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The Lord comes;
he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

Gospel John 1:35-42

‘We have found the Messiah’

As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.

One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.

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What do you want?

“What do you want?”—This is the question that Jesus posed to John the Baptist’s disciples when He found them following Him. Today, let us allow Jesus to ask us this meaningful question: “What do you want? What is your heart seeking?” The two disciples did not ask for either material wealth or health. Instead, they asked Jesus, “Where do you live?” This reflects their desire to know Jesus and be close to Him, and not just to seek more information about Him or to see miracles. Knowing their desire, Jesus told them, “Come and see”, inviting them to come, encounter and stay with Him. From that moment on, the two disciples’ lives changed. The encounter with Jesus was so impactful that they felt the need to share the gift they received. One of the first things they did was go out and bring others to Jesus. Andrew, one of the two disciples, told his brother, “We have found the Messiah”.

Today, listen to Jesus personally asking us, “What do you want? What are you looking for?” Let us seek Jesus so that we can stay with Him and witness the Gospel through our words and actions.

Reflective question:
What do I desire most?

Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.