BRINGING MYSTERIES TO LIFE

TUESDAY AFTER EPIPHANY SUNDAY

1 Jn 4:7-10; Ps 72:1-4,7-8; Mk 6:34-44

Maturity of Knowledge in Love

We have claimed the experience of those who had personal and physical encounters with the Word who became flesh for the love of us and for our salvation. We have authenticated and continue to validate their accounts and their faith expressed in the divine reality beyond what they saw, felt, and touched with the Word of God given in the prophets and the Law. We continue to work the process of reading, authentication, and validation of the accounts of the apostles, disciples of the Lamb, and others who experienced the Incarnate Word and believed in his divinity as a way of building our faith in the mystery of the Incarnation, which is the firm foundation for the Church’s faith as mentioned yesterday. When we receive the gift of faith and grow it through this spiritual process and exercise, by which we come in contact with the Sacrament of our faith through the senses of our brothers and sisters who were with him on our behalf, we must live by the faith to truly enter the divine communion with them. Saint John informed us that the purpose of writing his letter is to describe what they heard, saw, and touched, to make it possible for us to enter their communion with the Eternal Word through faith in his divinity. The communion is made possible by the Holy Spirit, who is love. In practicing our faith love inflames our hearts and motivates our will to bring alive the reality we believe in.

If we fail to put into practice the knowledge of the mystery we have gained through faith, then we will become false to our new birth or our begetting of a new self through the conception of the mystery of the Incarnate Word. It is similar to the abortion of a baby supposedly conceived in love; the love of the spouses reaches its completion in the birth of the baby conceived. Its abortion is a sure sign of false love, which is selfishness. To conceive the divine truth in faith and fail to put it into practice is to abort our new and spiritual self, conceived in union with God. Hence, John writes: “My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.” Love is connected with what we read of our brothers and sisters’ encounter with the Incarnate Word because he appeared in our nature to testify to the Father’s love for us. So, our correct appropriation of their encounter with him sets our hearts aflame and impels us to imitate his love and sacrifice. The ignition of our hearts with heavenly and spiritual love is what the scriptures mean when they record that the Holy Spirit witnesses the Gospel with the apostles and disciples of our Lord.

The Gospel gives us a good example of such records of his deeds among men in his humanity. His deeds and words attracted so many people to him that he took pity on them and spent a long time teaching them heavenly doctrine. He did not forget their bodily needs because he shared our human conditions. Knowing that they would be hungry listening for such a long time, he worked the miracle of the loaves and fish for the satisfaction of their hunger and also strengthened their faith at the same time by the miracle. “Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing; then he broke the loaves and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the people. He also shared out the two fish among them all. They all ate as much as they wanted.” They witnessed these events for us and recorded them for our edification. The events authenticate the scripture, which says that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Meditation and contemplation of these events strengthen our faith in the Eucharist and God’s providential care over our lives.

Let us pray: O God, whose Only Begotten Son has appeared in our very flesh, grant, we pray, that we may be inwardly transformed through him whom we recognise as outwardly like ourselves. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.