Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 6, 2018 - Jan. 6 (if Epiphany is Jan. 7 or 8)
[1 John 5:5-13 and Mark 1:7-11 or Luke 3:23-38 or Luke 3:23, 31-34, 36, 38,286]"You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." [Mark] He was the son, as it was thought, of Joseph, son of Heli....the son of Adam, the son of God. [Luke} Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. [1 John]
All the scriptures assigned for today's celebration of the Eucharist make the same point: Jesus is the Son of God. The First Letter of John is the straightforward declaration of a preacher. The Gospel According to Mark brings Jesus, the Spirit and the voice of the Father proclaiming Jesus as the "beloved Son." The alternative gospel scripture from the Gospel According to Luke features the tongue-twisting genealogy that says people may have thought Jesus was just the son of Joseph, but the genealogy traces him back to the beginning of creation! Jesus' title as 'Son of God' is more than a title, it is a saving declaration. Through Baptism we become his adopted brothers and sisters!
Tomorrow, we will celebrate the feast of the Epiphany in which another title, 'King of the Jews,' will show up when the Magi come to Herod with their inquiry! This title was deadly, not only because of Herod's paranoid reaction, but later on would be an excuse to hand Jesus over and a mocking title fastened on the cross in three languages! But whether we see him in the manger, or coming up from the River Jordan with the voice, or see him crucified and risen, he is the Son of God and in him we have life. AMEN