"This joy of mine is now full"
Saturday after Epiphany
Reading 11 JN 5:14-21Beloved:
We have this confidence in him
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours.
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life.
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.
We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin;
but the one begotten by God he protects,
and the Evil One cannot touch him.
We know that we belong to God,
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.
We also know that the Son of God has come
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against idols.
Responsorial PsalmPS 149:1-2, 3-4, 5-6A AND 9BR. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaMT 4:16R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 3:22-30
Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea,
where he spent some time with them baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,
because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned.
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew
about ceremonial washings.
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,
to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”
John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;
the best man, who stands and listens for him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.
So this joy of mine has been made complete.
He must increase; I must decrease.”
MEDITATION 1: BRO. SCHWAGER
Do you know the joy of the Lord? When some friends of John the Baptist complain that all the people are now going to Jesus, John in his characteristic humility exclaimed that he was not the Messiah but only the messenger sent to prepare his way. John describes the Messiah as the Bridegroom and himself as the friend of the Bridegroom. The image of the groom delighting in his bride and the joy of the wedding feast is used in the Bible as a sign or symbol of God's covenant love and joy in being united with his people, whom he calls his bride. As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you (Isaiah 62:5).
Through the gift of the Holy Spirit John recognized that Jesus was sent from the Father in heaven the anointed Messiah, sent from the Father in heaven to reunite his people to himself. John acted as the groom's best man in arranging the marriage and in making preparations for the marriage feast. John and his disciples now rejoice that the Bridegroom has come to make his bride, the people of God, ready for the marriage feast. The New Testament tells us that Christ's blood which was shed upon the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, seals us in a new covenant between God and his people. The Book of Revelation depicts the final fulfillment and consummation of this new covenant relationship at the marriage feast of the "Lamb and his Bride" in the New Jerusalem (see Revelations 21-22). Do you look with joyful anticipation to the consummation of God's plan for his people at the end of the ages?
"Lord Jesus, may I never forget the love you have poured out for me when you shed your blood upon the Cross of Calvary for my sins and for my salvation. May your love always grow in me and your hope fill me with joy as I wait for your return in glory when all of your people will be fully united with you at your heavenly banquet feast in the New Jerusalem."
MEDITATION: FR. ALFONSE
John 3:22-30 He Must Increase; I Must Decrease
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John (the Baptist) and a Jew about ceremonial washings. So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ…The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice…He must increase; I must decrease.” “He came from such humble beginnings”. I have often heard this said, especially at funerals, but I never really reflected on it much. Now that I have, I have something to say about it.What we say is not always what we want to say. When we say that someone came from humble beginnings, what we are really saying is that they started off with nothing or that they came from very modest beginnings. That makes a lot more sense to me, especially when someone is talking about a rags-to-riches story. For when it comes to humility, there are no guarantees that a poor man is a humble man or that a rich man is no longer a humble man. Humility has little to do with our condition in life; it has much to do with our attitude towards life. People of faith have an easier time at being humble than people of little or no faith. It’s not that the humble are humble because they think they are wrong (you can’t be humble if you are wrong. You can only be honest); rather, the humble are humble because they know they are right. They are right in being grateful. They are right in being generous. They are right in being honest.Humble people know how grateful they should be to a hidden God. They should be as grateful as the recipient of an unknown organ donor; as grateful as the recipient of an anonymous donor; as grateful as the recipient of an unknown prayer.Humble people are humble because they are commonsensical. Humility does not come from scraping at the bottom of a barrel; it comes from turning the barrel upside down and opening it. God is not humble because He is small; God is humble because He makes himself small. He is not humble because He is man’s servant. He is humble because He makes himself man’s servant. John the Baptist was not humble because he was insignificant. He was humble because he made himself insignificant. “He must increase; I must decrease.”Humility has little to do with our state of life; it has everything to do with the way we posture ourselves in this life.St. John the Baptist positioned himself perfectly the moment he pointed to the Lord and said that which would be hard for any of us to say: “He must increase; I must decrease.” He is the one. I am not. To be humble means to submit oneself to reality (“You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ”). To be humble means to know the difference between being the “groom” and the “best man”. To be humble means to posture yourself properly before the great One (“I stand and listen to him”). To be humble means to adore no one - not myself or others – but the Lord. “Beloved: We have this confidence in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1Jn 5:14). When we pray, we often pray for one thing: happiness. And when we pray for happiness, we often attach it to something. But happiness, like holiness, is not attached to something; it is attached to Someone: Jesus Christ. With Jesus we find holiness; with holiness we find our happiness. Happiness and holiness go hand in hand, just like sacrifice and love, just like the Lord and I. In order for us to be holy and happy, we must be humble: So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.