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(Note: This Reading is used in those regions where the Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on a Sunday rather than on January 6.)

Commentary on 1 John 5:14-21

We come today to the last part of John’s Letter. It forms a kind of postscript to the rest of the work, much as chapter 21 is an epilogue in John’s Gospel. The passage consists of two parts: a prayer for sinners, and then a final summary of the main points in the Letter.

The section begins with an important definition of true prayer:

And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Sometimes in our prayer when we are just asking for something that we want, it can happen that we feel disappointed or even angry when we do not get it.

But true prayer consists in trying to discover what exactly God wants of me, under the firm conviction that he always wants the very best. It is not a question of my demanding that God give me what I want or I think I need. Nor is it fatalistically submitting to a God who does things I don’t want to happen. Rather, it is a matter of God’s will and mine being brought fully into harmony, so that I really want (and not just am prepared to accept) what he wants. In this case, my will and God’s will coincide. I am doing what he wants and I am doing what I want! The secret of much happiness is right here and is the ultimate goal of Christian living.

One thing we are particularly urged to pray for here are brothers or sisters who have gone astray in their faith or morals, so that life might return fully to them. However, there are some who have committed “deadly” sins and the writer tells us:

I do not say that you should pray about that.

This is to say, the author suggests there may not be much use in praying.

What is such a “deadly” sin? In the Gospel, the only sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin against the Holy Spirit, that is, the sin of totally closing one’s mind to truth (see Matt 12:31-32). Once we have taken such a step and remain in that state, there is no way that we can be reached by a loving and forgiving God. As long as a person is in this state, they are beyond help. Nevertheless, despite what the writer implies, it would seem that we could certainly pray that such an attitude might change.

In the context of this letter, “deadly sin” may refer to those who have abandoned their Christian faith and become apostates, perhaps under the pressure of persecution. To save their skins, they have given up the Truth that is Christ; they have closed a door which only they can reopen.

Additionally, it could also refer to those heretics who denied the ‘Sonship’ of Jesus, either partially or totally. Similarly, it could refer to those who had taken up a Gnostic position which, on the one hand, believed in separating oneself entirely from all that is material in this world and then, by a perverted kind of logic, believed in living a totally amoral life. (Their thesis was: If physical matter is an evil to be avoided and is destined to non-existence, does it really matter what you do with it? Does it matter what you do with your body or someone else’s?)

Yet another view is that a deadly sin is so serious that it results in physical death, hence putting the person beyond prayer.

In the final summary of his letter, the writer makes three statements all beginning with: “We know that…” The first is:

We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them.

As long as one is consciously committed to Christ and has totally submitted his or her life to his Way, sin is a contradiction. The two cannot co-exist.

The second statement says:

We know that we are God’s children and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.

Being a Christian (in a real and not just a notional sense) and being under the influence of the “world” are again mutually exclusive.

And the third says:

…we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.

By being “in” Jesus Christ we are also “in” God who sent him among us. This is the blessed role of Jesus, to be God made visible so that we know how and where we can find God in our lives.

In conclusion, we are warned to be on our guard against idols. There is a sharp antithesis between the children of God and those belonging to the world and to the ‘evil one’. In the context of the letter, it is a warning against the many idols in which the surrounding peoples believed, and in the idol of the emperor as a divine being to which no Christian could give an allegiance which was due only to God. Many died martyrs because of their refusal to worship the emperor’s image. But there must have been many who caved in because of fear.

Perhaps we are not touched by such idols today (even when we live in places with statues of gods and deities), but there are many other idols of a more subtle kind which we can easily fail to recognise as such. These include materialism and consumerism, the obsession with money and wealth, the cult of sex and even of the body (through slavery to image and fashion), and the cult of the hero whether in the media or in sports (‘fans’ = fanatics, a word used to describe the actions of frenzied worshippers in another age). Obsession with such idols can blind us to the very real needs—material, social and spiritual—of those around us. Then we fail in the essential quality of being a child of God—love for each other.

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Commentary on 1 John 2:22-28

Again today we discuss the ‘fourth condition’ for ‘walking in the light’, which continues the warnings about the Antichrist and false teachers in the community.* In today’s text, an “antichrist” is defined as someone who denies that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. The antichrist is a “liar”; he is totally opposed to Jesus Christ, who is the Truth:

I am the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)

The writer says:

No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also.

This comment seems to refer to the Gnostic Cerinthus. He taught that the Son of God entered the man Jesus only at his baptism and left before the Passion. But Jesus emphatically affirms elsewhere:

The Father and I are one. (John 10:30)

The reading continues:

As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, so you do not need anyone to teach you.

This needs to be properly understood. Since the Bible constantly advocates teaching (Matt 28:20; 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11; Col 3:16; 1 Tim 4:11; 2 Tim 2:2,24), John is certainly not ruling out human teachers and in fact he refers to them (“…what you heard from the beginning…”). At the time when he was writing, Gnostic teachers were insisting that the teaching of the Apostles needed to be supplemented with the “higher knowledge” that the Gnostics claimed to possess.

John is saying that the teaching the Christians have received from their Spirit-guided teachers is not only enough, but is the only reliable source of the true message. The author appeals to his readers to remain faithful to the teaching they heard from the beginning and not to be led astray. And it is not enough just to have heard the teaching or to know its content (for the Gnostics, knowledge was everything). The message of the teaching has to be totally assimilated so that it becomes part of ones’s whole life—words, actions and relationships. As Paul said to the Galatians:

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. (Gal 2:19-20)

Through this assimilation one becomes a ‘new’ person.

The promise being given is that of eternal life. And that life is not just at some future time, but begins immediately we attach ourselves to Jesus and his Way. Using a favourite expression, the writer of the letter says:

…you will abide in the Son and in the Father.

That is the source of the life to be experienced here and now.

Through that union with Son and Father, one is ‘anointed’ by the Holy Spirit who helps us to understand all we need to know to live the life that Jesus proposes to us. It is for us to remain in him, and then and only then will we be ready when he comes to call us to himself:

…so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.

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*The first part of John’s Letter describes four conditions for ‘walking in the light’. See 1 John 1:5—2:28.

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Commentary on Genesis 15:1-6;17:3-5,15-16;21:1-7; Hebrews 11:8,11-12,17-19; Luke 2:22-40 Read The Holy Family (Year B) »

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Some may find it strange that there is no direct mention of Christmas in the Christmas Day Mass readings. While we do recall the story of Jesus’s birth during the Midnight Mass after Christmas Eve, the theme of the Mass during Christmas Day is the real identity of this helpless little baby in the manger:

What child is this, who laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?

This baby is the Word of God. In his inner being he is with God and is God.

Word
God expresses himself through his Word, just as we do. Our words can often be wild, superficial and meaningless, but God’s word is active and creative, as ours also can be. Think of Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven and all the great architects and painters. They create, make new things and move us. Through God’s Word everything came into being. The Infant is surrounded by his own creation.

Light
The Word is light. Christmas is a winter feast, when days are darkest, but beginning to get longer. So it is very much a feast of hope. Jesus is the Light of the World. We too are called to be the light of the world, a candle shining in darkness.

Rejected
Jesus came to his own—those he had made and especially those he had called as his own people and showered them with his blessings—and they rejected him.

Flesh
The Word was made “flesh” (Greek, sarx). Jesus was not just a human, but someone totally immersed in our world. This starts with the birth itself. He is born far from home, constrained to use an animals’ feeding box as his bed. He is visited by marginalised people and outcasts—the shepherds. He will soon be a refugee, on the run, threatened by violence.

Liberation
All this is part of a process of liberation. Jesus came to liberate people, to lead them out of their poverty, their rejection, their marginalisation, and from being victims of oppression, exploitation, violence and abuse. He came to heal individuals and societies and make them whole.

Let us pray today for our own en-light-enment, our liberation, and our co-creativity with the Word of God.

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John was one of two sons of Zebedee, and tradition gives their mother’s name as Salome. From the Gospel, we learn that John, with his father and brother, were fishermen in the Sea of Galilee. He, along with his brother James and of course Peter, belonged to the inner circle of disciples around Jesus. As one would expect, there is no record of the year or place of his birth. John, with Peter and his brother, were privileged witnesses of certain events in the Gospel story.

They were with Jesus when he restored the daughter of Jairus to life (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51), at the Transfiguration (Matt 17:1; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28) and also during his Agony in the Garden (Matt 26:37; Mark 14:33). It was John who went with Peter into the city to make the preparation for the final Passover meal (the Last Supper, Luke 22:8). It is possible that John was the other disciple who “who was known to the high priest” and went with Peter as Jesus was brought into the high priest’s house (John 18:15). But this phrase may also refer to the “Beloved Disciple”.

John and his brother were called Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’ (Mark 3:17) by Jesus because of their fiery temperament, revealed when they suggested Jesus should call down fire from heaven on some Samaritans who would not provide hospitality to Jesus and his disciples as they were passing through the territory (Luke 9:54).

John and James also aroused the ire of their fellow apostles by asking Jesus privately to grant them the privilege to sit on Jesus’ right and left in his Kingdom—in other words, having the places of greatest honour. And, when asked would they be able to go through an experience similar to that Jesus was about to face in his Passion, they boldly said they could. Jesus told them they were right, but it would only happen after they had fully absorbed the way and thinking of Jesus. For instance, they had to understand when he told them that true greatness was not in having places of honour, but rather in outdoing everyone in loving service to others.

The name John is traditionally linked with New Testament writing. Three different authors with the name John have been identified. First, there is the author of the Gospel according to John and the First Letter of John, commonly referred to as John the Evangelist and also identified with John the Apostle. The authorship of books in ancient times was quite loose, and the name attached to a book may not indicate that that person actually wrote it, although he may have inspired it in some way. However, the same person does seem to have authored these two books.

Second, both the Second and Third Letter of John have the same author, who calls himself the Presbyter or Elder and is sometimes identified with a person known as John the Presbyter.

And, third, the author of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse (the Greek word for ‘revelation’) calls himself John, but the book’s whole way of thinking, style and content make it very unlikely he was the one who wrote the Gospel. He says that, because of his Christian faith, he had been exiled to the island of Patmos, but he does not claim to be John the Apostle, although some early writers so identified him.

The Gospel according to John clearly emphasises the divine nature of Jesus, as both Light and Life and the Word of God incarnated into the human family. This Gospel also puts love (agape) as the vital bond between Father and Son, and between Christ and his disciples, and also the bond between disciples. Traditionally, John the Apostle wrote his Gospel towards the end of his life, at the end of the first century.

Another tradition identifies John the Apostle with the Beloved Disciple in the Gospel of John, however, this is questionable. The Beloved Disciple seems rather to represent the perfect or model disciple, one who has none of the defects and faults of the Twelve, all who reveal clear weaknesses, including John.

After the Resurrection, John was prominent in the early Church. Not only would he have been among the early witnesses of the Risen Lord, but also would have been involved in the early preaching. Chapter 3 of the Acts of the Apostles speaks of Peter and John going into the Temple to pray at 9 o’clock in the morning. At the Temple gate they saw a man, “lame from birth” who was brought there every day. When he begged money from the two Apostles, they both fixed their gaze on the man and asked him to look at them. Then Peter said to him,

I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk. (Acts 3:6)

Then Peter pulled the man to his feet. He went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping about, and praising God. As the crowds gathered in wonder, this gave Peter the opportunity to preach to them about Jesus Christ. While they were still addressing the crowd, the Temple guard and some Sadducees came and arrested the two Apostles and put them in jail for the night. The following day, they were brought before the Sanhedrin and again, Peter took the opportunity to speak about Christ and why they believed in him. Eventually, divided among themselves, their judges sent them away with a warning never to speak about Jesus again.

The last appearance of John the Apostle in the New Testament is in chapter 8 of Acts. When the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had “accepted the word of God”, Peter and John were sent to evangelise them. The people there had “only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”, but the Spirit had not yet come down on them. The two Apostles then laid their hands on the people and they received the Spirit.

Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans. (Acts 8:25)

It is not certain how long John, with the other Apostles, would have stayed in Jerusalem. However, 12 years later, during the persecution of Herod Agrippa I, they would have scattered to other parts of the Empire. John may have gone to Asia Minor. It seems there was already a Christian community in Ephesus before Paul first went there, and John has always been linked with that city. He would probably have returned to Jerusalem for the Council held in 51 AD.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul refers to John, together with Peter and James, as “the acknowledged pillars”, in other words, the most prominent figures in the Jerusalem community (see Gal 2:9).

There is a long-standing tradition that John the Apostle settled in Ephesus. Various legends are told of him there by people like Clement of Alexandria. It was said he feared that the baths at which the heretic Cerinthus was bathing would collapse because he was in them. It was also said that he repeated his exhortation to his followers to love one another to the point of tedium. He emphasised it because “it is the word of the Lord and, if you keep it, that is enough”. His message is similar to St. Augustine’s later saying: “Love and do what you like.”

An old tradition holds that John was banished by the Roman authorities to the Greek island of Patmos. According to Tertullian, John was banished after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing from it. It is said that the entire coliseum was converted to Christianity upon witnessing this miracle.

The vestments for John’s feast are white, indicating he is not regarded as a martyr. Artistic representations of John reflect other legends. He is shown holding a cup with a viper in it, calling to mind a challenge from the high priest of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus to drink a poisoned cup. In his role as evangelist, his emblem is an eagle.

John is the patron of theologians, writers, and all who work at the production of books. The dedication of the church of St John before the Latin Gate on 6 May commemorates his escape from being put into a cauldron of boiling oil under the Emperor Domitian.

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Commentary on Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59; Matthew 10:17-22

Some might find it strange that this feast of a martyr should follow immediately after the joyful celebration of the Birth of Jesus. Yet, it is very fitting that the first feast celebrated after Christmas should be that of the first person recorded as giving his life in the service of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ, and for the vision of life that the Gospel represents.

The Christmas story itself is full of challenge, as Mary and Joseph are forced to leave their home in Nazareth just when she is going to have her baby. And, after the long journey to Bethlehem, there is no decent lodging. They have to take shelter in a stable where animals were kept.

Is this how the Son of God, our King and Lord, is to appear in our world? Yes! Jesus’ mission of self-giving begins right here, in the stable in Bethlehem. And this is the first step in the saga that will eventually bring him to the high point of his mission—his suffering, death and resurrection. What could be more fitting than, on the day after Jesus’ appearance among us, we recall the first disciple of his Way to follow in his footsteps—and to do so all the way.

The Gospel reading from Matthew could almost have had Stephen in mind. It is taken from the discourse given by Jesus (chapter 10), where he sends out his disciples on their mission to do the same work he is doing. He also warns them of the kind of reception that they can expect to meet.

In the verse before today’s reading, Jesus tells them that he is sending them out:

…like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves (Matt 10:16)

As our passage today begins, Jesus spells out just what that means. They are to be on their guard because:

…they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues…

Some of their fellow Jews will be doing this to them. And Jesus says, they:

…will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.

People of other religions, and none, will also act against them.

At the same time, when they are handed over, they are not to be anxious about what they should say in their defence or how to say it:

…do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

We can see much of this taking place in the martyrdom of Stephen. He was both clever and highly intelligent, but also totally innocent of any of the charges laid against him. He was hauled before a court. He knew exactly what to say, and the only reply his accusers could make was to stone him to death in anger. But he was at peace and, in his dying moments, forgave his killers.

The First Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, recounts the story of the disciple Stephen who was called to more than just corporal works of mercy. He was a powerful voice in proclaiming the message of Jesus.

The verses describe his encounter with the “Synagogue of Freedmen”. These people may have been descendants of Jews carried off to Rome by Pompey in 63 BC. They were sold into slavery, but later released. They might also have been former slaves who came from North Africa or Asia Minor. When it comes to race or religion, exiles can be far more fanatical than those living ‘at home’. Hence, Hellenist Jews who became Christian were targets of the Freedman’s anger.

What truly roused them was that they could not better Stephen in their arguments. Like Jesus, he was filled with wisdom, and was guided by the Spirit in all that he said. Eventually, opposition grew to such an extent that Stephen was arrested and brought to trial in Jerusalem.

It is not recorded in today’s reading, but in the course of his defence he gave his judges a lesson in salvation history. As he spoke, Stephen explained clearly how Jesus was the expected culmination of all that happened in the course of God’s intervention among his people over the centuries.

The reading skips straight to Stephen’s last moments. Filled with the Holy Spirit (as Jesus had earlier promised his disciples), he told the assembly about the vision he had of Jesus sitting at the Father’s right hand. The crowd blocked their ears to prevent themselves from listening to such blasphemies. The Scriptures had long ago said that no one could look on the face of God and live. Stephen had made it worse; he had put the man—Jesus—side by side with Yahweh.

He was then rushed out of the city for immediate execution and stoned to death. And as we saw, there was a young man named Saul, at whose feet the executioners left their clothes. He looked on with total approval. This act would see the beginning of a great persecution against the church community in Jerusalem, led by Saul. Yet, as Jesus had said of himself:

…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies…
(John 12:24)

How much did the death of Stephen really influence Saul? Was he actually the instigator of all that was happening? Saul would show himself a zealous persecutor of these ‘Christians’—these heretical Jews who had to be crushed. But his time would come, and there would a miraculous turnaround.

Out of Stephen’s tragic death would come the conversion of Saul to become Paul. Far from being a fanatical Jew, Paul would become the Apostle to the Gentiles, bringing the Word of Christ not only to his own people, but even more, to the whole world. Could it be that the words of forgiveness uttered by Stephen as the stones rained down on him began to change Saul? As Tertullian, the second century church father, would say later on:

…the blood of martyrs is the seed of faith.