Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 2 January 2015

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 2 January 2015
Meditation - John 1:Thunder in the Desert
19-20 When Jews from Jerusalem sent a group of priests and officials to ask John who he was, he was completely honest. He didn’t evade the question. He told the plain truth: “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They pressed him, “Who, then? Elijah?”
“I am not.”
“The Prophet?”
“No.”
22 Exasperated, they said, “Who, then? We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something—anything!—about yourself.”
23 “I’m thunder in the desert: ‘Make the road straight for God!’ I’m doing what the prophet Isaiah preached.”
24-25 Those sent to question him were from the Pharisee party. Now they had a question of their own: “If you’re neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”
26-27 John answered, “I only baptize using water. A person you don’t recognize has taken his stand in your midst. He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I’m not even worthy to hold his coat for him.”
28 These conversations took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing at the time.
Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Who are you? (John 1:19)
The priests and Pharisees almost had it right—almost. They recognized in John an otherness that connected with what they knew about God. He was living an extreme lifestyle, in an extreme situation, and preaching an extreme message. John suggested something of God to them. They were even open to the possibility that he was the Messiah, a new Elijah, or another long-awaited “Prophet” (John 1:21).
But John denied it all. Evidently, these Jewish leaders’ ideas about the Messiah didn’t align with God’s intentions. Their thoughts were based on the prevailing wisdom of the day, along with their own experiences, desires, and biases. They weren’t being bad guys here, just human guys, like the rest of us. We all have ideas about who God is, how he works, and what he wants—ideas that are based on our own prevailing wisdom.
God understands. After all, he made us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. That’s why he asks us to come to him, with all of our preconceived ideas, and let him teach us about the desires, plans, and intentions that are on his heart. He asks us to let his thoughts become our thoughts, even if it means putting aside some of our old thoughts.
Here are a few examples of thoughts we need to reject. We may think that we’re too unimportant for God to bother with. We may think that we’re unlovable and not worthy of his attention. Or we may think that we’re smart enough and that we don’t need God to teach us. Or perhaps, when we think of our heavenly Father, we are hindered by the memory of a neglectful, absent, or abusive parent. But God is so much bigger. He’s also much more generous and kind!
So take a little time today to examine some of your thoughts about yourself. Sit quietly with the Lord, and let him show you what he thinks about you. Turn to your favorite Scripture passage and ask him to speak to you through it in a new way. Let him show you how deeply he values you, how much he loves you. Then let him gently and happily rearrange some of your ideas!
“Father, I want to hear from you today. I lay down my own ideas about you. Come, Lord, lead me in your truth and teach me.” Amen!
1 John 2:22-23 So who is lying here? It’s the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that’s who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son. No one who denies the Son has any part with the Father, but affirming the Son is an embrace of the Father as well.
24-25 Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life!
26-27 I’ve written to warn you about those who are trying to deceive you. But they’re no match for what is embedded deeply within you—Christ’s anointing, no less! You don’t need any of their so-called teaching. Christ’s anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.
Live Deeply in Christ
28 And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.
Psalms 98:1 Sing to God a brand-new song.
He’s made a world of wonders!
He rolled up his sleeves,
He set things right.
2 God made history with salvation,
He showed the world what he could do.
3 He remembered to love us, a bonus
To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.
The whole earth comes to attention.
Look—God’s work of salvation!
4 Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!
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