Monday after Epiphany – Christmas

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Monday after Epiphany – Christmas

 

Readings: I Jn 3:22-4:6; Mt 4:12-17, 23-25.

 

1/ First Reading: NAB 1 John 3:22 (We) receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. 24 Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us. 4:1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, 3 and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. 4 You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

2/ Gospel: NAB Matthew 4:12 When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, 16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.” 17 From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 23 He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. 24 His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them. 25 And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.


Written by: Fr. Anthony Tien M. Dinh, O.P.

I. THEME: We must study God’s words to recognize the truth.

            We are living in a world which is mixed up of many qualities: truth and false, good and evil. It is very difficult for us to recognize the truth from many falsities, the good from many evil ones. How can we recognize the truth and good people?

            Today readings give us some important standards to recognize the truth. In the first readings, St. John gave us two standards to recognize the truth: First, the true people are those who believe in Christ. Secondly, they shall be hated by the world. In the Gospel, St. Matthew reported the beginning of Christ’s mission. He is the light not only for the Gentiles who are living in the darkness of death but also for the Jews who are expecting the Messiah to come.

II. ANALYSIS:

1/ Reading I: People must remain in God to recognize the truth.

           

1.1/ How can one remain in God? According to St. John, the faithful must keep the commandments. He wrote, “Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.” According to Jewish tradition, knowing God isn’t pure knowledge, but must affect the believer’s life. In other words, knowing God demands one to keep His commandments. There are two most important commandments according to John:

            (1) Must believe in Christ, His Son: To John, this is the condition for the believers to become God’s children. The reason why John emphasized this commandment is because some heresies which come from the community of believers denied either Christ’s divine or human nature.

            (2) Must love one another: God is love; whoever remains in love, remains in God. When one has God, he has all three persons of the Holy Trinity. In opposition, whoever hates his brothers, he doesn’t have God.

           

1.2/ How can one recognize the truth? St. John said that one must carefully think before acknowledge the truth. He said, “Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” One must base on these two standards to recognize the truth:

            (1) The one who speaks the truth believes that Christ comes from God. He said, “This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God,and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world.” In John’s age, there were at least two heresies who denied Christ’s humanity: the Gnosticism and the Docetism; while the traditional Judaism denied his divinity.

            (2) The one who speaks the truth shall not be accepted by the world: To John, there are only black or white, not the grey area between these polarities. There is only the truth of those who believe in Christ or the falsity of those who don’t believe in him. The faithful are those who believe in Christ, and they belong to God. They speak the truth and the world doesn’t believe in them. The antichrists are those who don’t believe in Christ. The belong to the the world; they speak falsities and the world believe in them.

            St. John confirmed the faithful, “You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them.We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.”

            St. Paul also talked about these two spirits and confirmed that the Spirit of God is much greater than the spirit of the world because he comes from God and teaches the faithful all the truths of God (1 Cor 2:12)

2/ Gospel: Jesus revealed himself for all people.

2.1/ Jesus begins his mission at the Gentile’s land, north of Galilee: This is the fertile and populated area, but surrounded by the Gentiles: the Phoenicians live in the northwest; the Syrians live in the northeast; the Samarians reside in the south. Therefore, Galilee is influenced by the Gentiles more than any Jewish region. Moreover, Galilee is also the intersect of the Middle East: The Way of the Sea (Via Maris) connects from Damascus, Syria, to Egypt; and from there to African continent, must pass through Galilee. The road from the west to the east must also pass through Galilee. One can say that the world’s communication must pass through Galilee.

            Meanwhile, Judah is a separated area, not convenient for the world’s communication. There is one who described the difference between two regions as follows: “Galilee is the road to everywhere, while Judah leads to nowhere.” This shows us that Jesus is very wise when he chose to begin his missionary in Galilee. He chose Galilee because it is a populated area and the intersection of many worldly civilization so that many people might have a chance to hear his preaching of good news.

            Today passage also mentioned the fact that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy when he begins his mission in this area: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.” From Zebulun and Naphtali, Jesus’ good news are extended through all areas.

2.2/ Jesus’ main activities:

            (1) The content of his preaching: His first message continues John Baptist’s message which is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” At first, he used the Jewish synagogues where people are gathered to learn Scripture.

            (2) He heals all kinds of diseases: To help people to believe in his preaching, he healed all kinds of sickness as foretold by the prophet Isaiah: He cured “every disease and illness among the people.His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them.” As a result, a great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:                     

            – We must learn Scripture to know and to live according to the truth.

            – There is the only way to recognize the truth from all falsities is to base on God’s words.

            – There are two basic standards to recognize the truth: to believe Christ who comes from God and to keep His commandments.

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