LOOK HARD AT OURSELVES TO SEE
IF WE IDENTIFY WITH CHRIST
In today’s Gospel (Jn 1:35-42), Jesus is encouraging us to take a hard look at our own lives, and to see if we understand our true purpose in this world. Am I fulfilling my vocation? Do I understand that my body was not created for me, but for the service of God, as a temple, to give Him glory by obeying His teachings. We are all to keep away from fornication (1Cor 6:13-15,17-20), because to fornicate is to sin against our own body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are not our own property, because we have been bought and paid for by the divine currency of Christ’s Blood. He has purchased us out of the eternal grip of the devil. This purchase will get us into the Kingdom of Heaven, but, like all purchases, it comes with terms and conditions. For it to work beyond the grave, we have to understand that our bodies, minds, souls and hearts, are made to give glory to God and not ourselves. We give glory to God by rejecting the temptation to fall to sin and by living the Will for God.
LOOK HARD AT THE EUCHARIST TO SEE THE FACE OF JESUS
With John looking hard at Jesus and seeing the Lamb of God, and Jesus looking hard at Peter and seeing the First Pope in him, we are called to be open to the workings of the Holy Spirit, and look at this world through the eyes of faith and belief. Do we look hard enough to truly see Jesus in the Eucharist? Do we see Him in the Sacrament of Confession, where He waits for us to come and ask for mercy? Do we look hard enough to see Him in our neighbour, especially our enemy? Do we listen attentively to Jesus in Holy Scripture? If we do not see Jesus in the Sacraments of the Church, then we are not looking hard enough at the Gospel of Truth.
JESUS LIVES IN THE CHURCH AND OUR HEARTS
In the Gospel, Jesus used Andrew to bring his brother Peter to Him. They asked Jesus where He lived? Let us look hard and see where Jesus lives in today’s world. We are called to stay with Jesus in Church and spend time with Him in Sunday Mass and in prayer. From there, we are called to see where He lives in our bodies. This is why we are not to defile the body, because our bodies make up the Body of Christ. To defile it, is to tie Him to a pillar and whip and scourge Christ all over again. We must do what the Word of God tells us, and not just half-heartedly listen to it (James 1:22,25). The person who looks steadily at the perfect Law of Freedom and actively puts it into practice, will be happy in this world and the world to come. God bless, Fr. Brendan.