First reading 1 John 3:11-21
Our love is to be something real and active
This is the message
as you heard it from the beginning:
that we are to love one another;
not to be like Cain, who belonged to the Evil One
and cut his brother’s throat;
cut his brother’s throat simply for this reason,
that his own life was evil and his brother lived a good life.
You must not be surprised, brothers, when the world hates you;
we have passed out of death and into life,
and of this we can be sure
because we love our brothers.
If you refuse to love, you must remain dead;
to hate your brother is to be a murderer,
and murderers, as you know, do not have eternal life in them.
This has taught us love –
that he gave up his life for us;
and we, too, ought to give up our lives for our brothers.
If a man who was rich enough in this world’s goods
saw that one of his brothers was in need,
but closed his heart to him,
how could the love of God be living in him?
My children,
our love is not to be just words or mere talk,
but something real and active;
only by this can we be certain
that we are children of the truth
and be able to quieten our conscience in his presence,
whatever accusations it may raise against us,
because God is greater than our conscience and he knows everything.
My dear people,
if we cannot be condemned by our own conscience,
we need not be afraid in God’s presence.
Responsorial Psalm 99(100)
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Go within his gates, giving thanks.
Enter his courts with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.
Gospel John 1:43-51
You will see heaven laid open, and the Son of Man
After Jesus had decided to leave for Galilee, he met Philip and said, ‘Follow me.’ Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ ‘From Nazareth?’ said Nathanael ‘Can anything good come from that place?’ ‘Come and see’ replied Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael. ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’
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Seeing the good
Today’s gospel tells us of yet another encounter, between Nathanael and Jesus. In Jesus, Nathanael encountered someone who sees deeper into his heart and pointed out the good that is present in him: “There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit. Before Philip came to call you, I saw you…”.
Often, seeing the good in ourselves and others is not so easy. It is much easier to find and focus solely on the bad, forgetting the good. In prayer today, let us allow Jesus to look deeply at us as He did to Nathanael and to point out the good we miss seeing in ourselves: honesty, kindness, patience, perseverance, thoughtfulness, diligence, etc. From there, let us be renewed in our vision to see others not just in their negative points but also to point out their good. In this liturgical season of Christmas, may we experience more and more the loving gaze of Jesus, who has come to dwell with us here on earth.
Reflective question:
What are the good points that Jesus is pointing out in myself and others?
What are the good points that Jesus is pointing out in myself and others?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Monika Punan FMVD.
