Daily Readings - Tue Dec 31 2024
1 John
18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.
John
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2He was with God in the beginning.3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.4In him was life, and that life was the light of men.5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'"16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
Sermon
In today's readings, we explore themes of truth, light, and divine sonship. The first reading from 1 John 2:18-21 warns of the last hour and the emergence of antichrists, emphasizing that these individuals were never truly part of the community. It reassures believers of their knowledge of truth through the Holy Spirit. The Gospel from John 1:1-18 presents Jesus as the eternal Word, creator, and light in darkness, who becomes flesh to dwell among us, offering sonship to those who believe.
Contextually, 1 John addresses early Christians facing false teachings, urging them to remain steadfast in their faith. John's Gospel, in its prologue, establishes Jesus' divinity and role in creation, introducing John the Baptist as a witness to the true light. Both readings intertwine, contrasting false prophets with the eternal truth and light of Christ.
In application, these readings call us to discern truth amidst falsehood, remain faithful, and embrace our identity as children of God through belief in Jesus. The moral lesson is to trust in God's truth and light, living as His children, guided by the Holy Spirit. May we reflect on our commitment to truth and our relationship with the divine light that illuminates our path.