Word to the Wise
Friday, January 7, 2022 - Friday after Epiphany, or Jan. 11
[1 John 5:5-13 and Luke 5:12-16]Now the testimony of God is this, that he has testified on behalf of his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life. [1 John]
JANUARY 7 ST. RAYMOND OF PENYAFORT O.P. [Friday after Epiphany]
One of the striking characteristics of the "Johannine" literature in the New Testament is its "forensic" or juridical tone and vocabulary. The words testimony and judgment appear often. Scripture scholars have suggested that this is a result of heated debate with Jewish and other non-Christian adversaries to Christianity. It comes down to a kind of "line in the sand." Either you believe in Jesus as the one whom God has sent, or you don't! We are not presented with a Jesus "menu" where we can pick and choose what we want to believe about him. [Thomas Jefferson tried to do this when he translated the New Testament and eliminated those parts he found unbelievable, such as miracles.]
In the Gospel and Letters of John, "the world" and "sin" are used to mean unbelief. The moral and ethical principles of Christian life flow from faith which comes from an encounter with God's love. The encounters with Jesus in the Gospel According to John are examples of this kind of encounter. The challenge for us today is to remember that love of neighbor is one of the most potent forms of preaching because a committed Christian carries Christ within him/herself. True faith means testimony about God's love. Rejection of that love is a judgment we bring upon ourselves. If we believe that Jesus is the one whom God has sent, how do we testify to that? If we were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us? AMEN