2nd. Sunday after Christmas (C)
(Ecclesiasticus 24:1-2, 8-12;
Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18; John 1:1-18)
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Let
us recall the Christmas message as we heard it told us by St. John:
God
Himself, in the Person of God the Son, became a human being, to the extent
that, in that Man, the fullness of divinity was, and still is, to be found
expressed in a perfect, and fully human, way.
John then goes on to assure us that:
From
His fullness we have all received, and grace in place of grace.
Yes,
we all are offered New Testament grace ... Jesus’ Personal blessing ... in place of Old Testament, legal, grace.
Over
the centuries, men have aspired to receive gifts from God, and some have
claimed to have received outstanding and striking gifts from Him. But, because no one ever imagined that God
would humble Himself to the extent of giving Himself Personally to us, --
becoming one like us, living among us and for us – consequently no one has ever
before been able to claim anything more than what was humanly appreciable: as
the Devil himself offered to give Jesus (according to St Matthew in his Gospel)
miraculous powers of all sorts, for example to change stones into bread; to fall
from great heights, unhindered, unfettered and unharmed (4:3-6); and world
encompassing glory, power, and renown, that is, all the world’s kingdoms in
their magnificence (4:8).
What,
however, is perhaps supremely appreciable to our modern world, is the last
temptation mentioned by St. Luke: the pretentious claim to goodness, and even pseudo-holiness,
through work done, of oneself, without God:
Then
he led Him to Jerusalem, made Him stand on the parapet of the Temple, and said
to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is
written, “He will command His angels concerning you. With their hands they will support you lest you
dash your foot against a stone”’
Dear
People of God we, who try and aspire to be humbly obedient and faithful
Catholics and Christians, have actually been given that supreme Jesus-blessing
through faith in, and baptism into, Jesus Himself, the Holy One of God dwelling
among us, for us. We have been given, in Jesus, a share in DIVINITY, namely (so
to speak), that wonderful and unimaginable blessing of being made true, adopted,
children of God even in this world; and, if we remain humbly obedient and
faithfully loving, with the promise and power to become -- in Jesus, by His
Spirit -- sharers for all eternity in the divine beatitude that unites Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit in the one Godhead.
We who are faithful believers in and disciples of Jesus, are now, and in
all literal truth can become eternally, children of God, Who wills to be a
Father to us.
That
teaching, however unimaginable to men of old, and however much neglected,
disputed, and ignored by modern generations, is vouchsafed for us by St. Paul
who says, as you heard:
Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in Christ with
every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him. In love He destined us for adoption to
Himself through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the favour of His will.
Just
allow the awareness of that, our Christian dignity and calling, to gently sink
deeply into your mind and heart, and, for the moment, try to forget all else as
you concentrate on that supreme Christian truth: God the Father has predestined
you to become His adopted child in and through Jesus, His only-begotten, and
most-beloved Son.
You,
personally, are predestined, which means given the calling -- the opportunity,
the grace, the power and ability -- to live eternally as a child of God, sharing
in the eternal blessedness, glory, beauty and goodness, of God. You are also promised the power and the grace
that will enable you to live your present life here on earth in such a way as
to actually gain – through God’s great mercy and goodness -- that eternal
reward. In other words, you, in Jesus
and by the Holy Spirit, can now make something of your life, so that it does not
just peter out and finally disappear into the sands of suffering and time, but
actually grows and develops into what Jesus described (John 4:14) as:
A spring of water welling up to everlasting
life.
And
that concerns not only the future; it has what might be called an immediate
dividend, since it offers us an unshakeable confidence with which to embrace
and face up to life as we find it here and now; for -- however you may be
placed at present, and no matter what the years may have in store for you – you
can, by the grace of the Spirit of Jesus, use all the circumstances of your
life in such a way as to help you attain that for which you, in Jesus, are
predestined by the Father. That is the
conviction which sustained the suffering disciples during Roman persecutions,
as we learn from St. Paul:
We
know that all things work for good to those who love God, who are called
according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)
St.
Paul most earnestly desired to help his converts to recognize and embrace their
Christian calling as we heard in our second reading:
I
do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers: that the God
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom
and revelation resulting in the knowledge of Him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call, what are the
riches of glory in His inheritance among the holy ones.
People
of God, do try to aspire to your heavenly calling!
Just
consider the earthly celebrations you have had over Christmas and New
Year: I think that many of you will at
least remember, from past years if not this pandemic year, finding yourselves, after
such celebrations, being somewhat weary of chocolates and cakes, special meats
and drinks. and perhaps also aware that excitement, hype, and pleasure-tasting
-- even pleasures of the honest and wholesome type – also gradually lose their
attraction: they don’t fully satisfy and can even leave you feeling disillusioned
and somewhat empty and ‘at a loss’.
All
such experiences are meant to help us realise that while we are called to
happiness -- for we cannot deny the hold it has over us, since it is what we
constantly find ourselves looking and longing for -- nevertheless, earthly
happiness does not always live up to our expectations, nor is it ever able to
fulfil all our aspirations.
However,
our predestination by God the Father -- our calling in Jesus our Saviour -- is
to a heavenly happiness which is unalloyed joy and fulfilment for those who
have been formed according to the word of Jesus by the power of the Holy
Spirit. Listen to St. Paul again:
May
you know what is the hope that belongs to His call, what are the
riches of glory ... the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who
believe, in accordance with the exercise of His great might which He worked in
Christ raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the
heavens, far above all principality, authority, power and dominion, and every
name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians
1:18-21)
All
that is yours, People of God, provided you allow the Holy Spirit to reform you
and your life. Moreover, it is a promise that cannot fail; you alone are in
question. What do you really
want? As you think that over, never forget
those words of final advice from Him Who came to live, die on a Roman cross,
and rise again, for our salvation:
What does it profit a man to gain
the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36)
