Daily Mass Reflections - 1/10
“Something of God flows into us from the blue of the sky, the taste of honey, the delicious embrace of water whether cold or hot, and even from sleep itself.” ~ C.S. Lewis
Today’s 1st Reading (1 John 4:19-5:4) underscores God’s proactively divine nature, forever looking to connect with each of us in a more intimate and profound way. Whereas human love has a tendency to be more reactive in nature, not so with God. As Saint Augustine once so famously said, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
John tells us that we have the capacity to love because God loved us first. We possess the ability to forgive because God forgave us first. We can care and pray for each other, even our enemies - especially our enemies - because God never stops tenderly caring for and loving us, even those who forsake him and neglect to live by his commandments. In the words of Saint Maria Goretti, “He loves, He hopes, He waits.” God prefers to wait for the sinner for years rather than keep one of His beloved children waiting so much as an instant.
The commandment that John focuses on in today’s passage is a simple one: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. After all, as he so logically explains, ”Whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” And of course as discussed in yesterday’s passage, John reminds us that God remains in each and every one of us. How could any one among us claim to love God if we project hatred towards anyone in whom God dwells? Once again, in matters pertaining to God’s perfect and unrelenting love, John’s letters prove to be an invaluable treasure trove of wisdom and clarity.
In Luke 4:14-22, we look in on Jesus as he preaches in the synagogue on the sabbath, as was the custom, declaring that he has come to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor."
Jesus’ message was rooted in the promise of the Kingdom of God. His followers would soon witness his death and subsequent resurrection, that seminal moment when a world that was predicated upon the inevitability of death would pass away, setting the stage for that glorious day when “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.” When “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4).
We the faithful patiently wait in joyful hope for the coming of that day, fully confident that Jesus will return to claim his faithful followers. No longer must we place our hope in the empty promises of the old order.
“O God, who through your son raised up your eternal light for all nations, grant that your people may come to acknowledge the full splendor of their Redeemer, that, bathed ever more in their radiance, they may reach everlasting glory.” ~ Amen