God Has Given Us Eternal Life In Jesus His Son.

Today is Friday after the feast of the Epiphany, and again we have some amazing readings. In the opening prayer for Holy Mass, we pray, “Grant, we ask, almighty God, that the Nativity of the Savior of the world, made known by the guidance of a star, may be revealed ever more fully to our minds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

In this prayer, we ask God to cause our minds – and might I add our hearts – to be open to the truth and the fullness of why Jesus came into our world. The fullness of why Jesus came is found in Matthew 1: 21, where the angel of the Lord said to Joseph, “She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.” The infant who birth we celebrate at Christmas, is the Son of God on a very specific mission, which was accomplished at Calvary.

The first reading for today, confirms Jesus’ mission. About the testimony of God, St. John wrote, “And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.”  This is very similar to John 3: 16, where Jesus said, “Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life.” Here is God’s desire to freely give eternal life to us sinful men, who cannot of our own accord, attain such.  This kind of reminds me of the words of a very beautiful Christian song that says,

You didn’t want heaven without us
So Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now.

In the first reading, St. John continues, “I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God”  . . . and what is the name of the Son of God? It is Jesus and keep in mind what the angel Gabriel said to Joseph –  ‘you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’  To be saved from sin requires a definitive action – the turning away from sin and turning to God – through Christ Jesus his Son. It is to give one’s life over to Christ Jesus.  St. Paul in his letter to the Romans wrote,

“When you were the servants of sin, you felt no obligation to uprightness, and what did you gain from living like that? Experiences of which you are now ashamed, for that sort of behaviour ends in death. But, now you are set free from sin and bound to the service of God, your gain will be sanctification and the end will be eternal life. For the wage paid by sin is death; the gift freely given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ref. Romans 6: 20 – 23)

Unfortunately, many have abandoned the priceless gift of their salvation chasing after the things of this world.  Many have traded an eternity of heavenly bliss for deceptive moments of worldly pleasure that will result in eternal death! Many attend Holy Mass where Jesus the Redeemer of the world; Jesus the Son of God; Jesus the Wonder-Counsellor, Jesus the Mighty-God, Jesus the Everlasting-Father; Jesus the Prince of Peace; Jesus – the one who is to save his people from their sins – where JESUS IS; Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity; and they leave Holy Mass; the leave the presence of Jesus Christ, in the same way they came – if not worse; all because of sin addiction. The miracle that Jesus worked for the leaper can still happen today.  Jesus is still The Miracle Worker. The problem is, are we willing to commit our lives to following him?  Are we prepared to turn away from sin and become a follower, a disciple of Jesus Christ.

This weekend, we will be celebrating the Baptism of Jesus, and we will renew our Baptismal promises.  Let us take this seriously. God, through Jesus Christ His Son, has freely made available to us the gift of Eternal Life.  Let us ask him for the grace to do our part.  Let us ask him to flood our hearts, minds and souls with a spirit of repentance. Let us ask him for the grace to truly live what we will profess in our Baptismal promises.