First Reading - Acts 12:24-13:5
Gospel - John 12:44-50
Today’s Gospel text, taken from John’s Gospel, is a passage from the last public discourse of Jesus before his arrest and crucifixion. The main ideas in the passage are: 1) Jesus’ relationship with the Father; 2) Jesus’ role as the Light and Life of the world; and 3) the criteria for His final judgment of us – Heaven or Hell. First, Jesus teaches us that he is one with the Father and he is the image of his invisible Father. He is one with the Father, so that Father speaks through him and operates through him. Hence, those who accept Jesus and his message accept God the Father’s message. Second, Jesus claims that he is the Light and Life of the world. Psalm 27 exclaims, “The Lord is my Light and my salvation!” As Light, Jesus removes the darkness of evil from the world and from our souls, shows us the correct way to go in life, and gives us the warmth of his sharing, sacrificial love. As Light, God’s word enables those with eyes of Faith to perceive the hidden truths of God’s Kingdom. As the Life of the world, Jesus, by his words, produces the very Life of God within those who receive these words with Faith. Third, we are rewarded or punished eternally based on whether or not we accept Jesus and his teachings and whether or not we live our lives accordingly.
The first reading recalls the authorization of Barnabas and Paul by the community to proclaim the message of the gospel at the instruction of the Holy Spirit. The passage reminds us that the Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the mission. The Holy Spirit not only guides and inspires but also instructs the churches, how to proclaim the message of the word of God. The Holy Spirit, God, makes the spread of the church as the sole project of the Church. The setting apart of Barnabas and Paul makes it evident that God uses the disciples for His work.
Dear friends, Jesus makes it clear that he represented the Father to us. He represented the Father so well that he could claim that "Father and I are one." We are invited to believe in the message of Jesus and walk in the light of truth and life, and thereby attain eternal life. Jesus becomes the perfect envoy of the Father. The first reading also highlights, how Holy Spirit guides the community in Antioch to set apart Barnabas and Paul as the chosen envoys of the gospel of Christ. They too carried out their work faithfully and the gospel spread everywhere under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Today, each believer in Christ is reminded that we have known and believed in the message of Christ and endeavor to live accordingly; all the same, we are to represent Christ and His message to the world with our life, words, and deeds as well. Today, every believer is an envoy of the gospel with the assistance of the Holy Spirit who continues to work in and through our instrumentality. Let's never shirk from our responsibility but carry it out faithfully.
May the Holy Spirit guide and direct our lives to become faithful envoys of the gospel.
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