First Reading - 1 John 3:7-10
Gospel - John 1:35-42
In the first reading, John reminds his readers of the peril of their situation. As God's children, they are to be on guard against those who want to lead them astray. The present imperative carries the idea of "Let no one engage in deceiving you, i.e., even try it!" Historically, the reference is to the false teachers who have attempted both doctrinal deception and moral deception. The subject of their deceit appears to center around the false teaching that one "could 'be' righteous without necessarily bothering to 'practice' righteousness." In fact, the false teachers with their sophistry were capable not merely of condoning sin, but of making it seem virtuous. The warning of John entails correct instructions to distinguish falsehood and correctness. In short, this section reminds the believers of their unique calling as children of God and their heritage as children of God. He emphasizes that believers' lives should be marked by righteousness. Therefore, it's required that the believers should break the chain of sins in them because sin does characterize them as children of God. All must emulate Jesus who destroyed the works of the devil and the power of sin. We, as children of God, are to imitate and even embody the distinguishing marks of God like Jesus.
The gospel passage of today recounts the episode of the encounter of the two disciples with the Messiah. The encounter of the two disciples with Jesus has a gradual process embedded with faith. The two disciples were initially the followers of John, but when John showed them the Messiah, believing in the words of John, they followed Jesus. They wanted to know more about Jesus and Jesus invited them to stay with him to see and know themselves. They stayed with and discovered the true Messiah in Jesus. Once, they had discovered the true Messiah, they also brought others to him. The whole scene of the discovery is a gradual step of faith journey until conviction to proclaim what is believed.
Dear friends, our life is a journey towards a discovery. We need to constantly ask this question to ourselves: What do we want to discover in our lives? The quest of the two disciples is evident because they wanted to know about the Messiah. They persevered in their quest by staying with Jesus. Consequently, by their perseverance, they discovered what they were looking for. The two disciples set an example for us to fix our gaze on the "what" or "purpose" of our lives, then, pursue that under the guidance of Jesus. Certainly, we will also find the joy of discovering the true meaning and purpose of our lives.
The first reading reminds us about the hurdles and distractions on the way. The hurdles and distractions can dissuade us to persevere in our quest or search. However, if we take Jesus as our model we can overcome all hurdles. Jesus also encountered hurdles and distractions but he persevered and overcome them and ultimately finished the task he was entrusted. Jesus is our model to learn the lessons for our lives; how to live it faithfully. Let's try to imitate him faithfully so that we achieve the purpose of our lives.
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