“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
5th January 2018.
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FRIDAY, CHRISTMASTIDE
Reading 1: 1 Jn 3:11-21 John tells us as a father: My children, our love is not to be just words or mere talk, but something real and active;
Res. Psalm: Ps 100: 1-5 Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him singing for joy.
Gospel: Jn 1:43-51 Nathanael meets Jesus, and proclaims: ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’
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FRIENDS OF JESUS
When Jesus chose his disciples, their friendship with the Lord began. That friendship was destined to last even after Jesus' Ascension into heaven. At the Last Supper, Jesus told the apostles that he would no longer call them servants but friends (cf. Jn 15:15). In John's continuing emphasis on love, he directs us to transfer our love for Jesus to one another, just as he himself did. “The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
In other words, just as Jesus resurrected by the power of that love that led to the sacrifice of the cross, so we first die to our old selves, then rise to new life in Christ. In fact, the life of every believer should reveal Jesus to others. Our vocation must be to the heroism of love.
Nathanael was a man who was in friendship with God. But, "Did Nathanael really come to know and profess Christ as the Son of God and the King of Israel simply because Jesus told him that He saw him under a fig tree? It appears so. But there is much more to it. Firstly, Nathanael was an honest, truthful, sincere and straight-forward sort of man. Secondly, this straightforwardness leads Nathanael to profess his faith in Christ almost immediately. How is this? Was it something that Jesus said? Clearly it was something much deeper that led Nathanael to profess his faith in Christ. It was a spiritual gift of faith by which the Holy Spirit revealed this to him. The good thing is that Nathanael, being a man without duplicity, listened to the Holy Spirit speak to his heart and he then spoke this conviction openly and with transparency.
In our own lives we need to imitate this quality of Nathanael. We must be open to the Holy Spirit speaking to us, and we must then be confident and honest in the convictions placed in our hearts so that we can reveal them honestly and openly to others. In imitating these qualities, we will also be able to act as instruments of our Lord to all whom we meet. Let us commit ourselves to being an open instrument of the voice of God in this world in imitation of this great Apostle.
Prayer: Lord, I desire to hear and know Your voice speaking to me in my heart. As I hear You, help me to be ready and willing to reveal You to others. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.