Today’s first reading, 1
John 5: 5-13, opens the liturgy with the statement: “Beloved: Who indeed is the
victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” At the foot of the cross, after seeing Jesus
die, the centurion professed this faith, saying: ‘In truth this man was Son of God’” (Mk. 15: 39).
Just as Jesus was like us in all things,
fully human, except sin, so, too, are we like Jesus except for the weakness in
our wills whereby we have a tendency to rebel against God. For those who
believe in Jesus, however, this tendency to choose one’s own will over God’s, this
tendency to commit sin, loses its power in their lives. We become victors over
the world of rebellion through Christ Jesus! And Jesus tells us that there is
immense joy in heaven over one sinner who repents and
chooses to bring his/her will in harmony with the will of God as modeled
by Jesus, who was obedient to the Father even to the point of death, death on a
cross.
Am I willing today to
conform my life after the life of Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, who “emptied Himself, taking the form of a
slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being,
he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross” (Phil 2: 7-8). What am I willing to accept as I follow Jesus’
example today? To what do I need to die in
order to rise above sin and death today and give birth to Christ?
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