CHILDREN OF GOD
St. John speaks
of our identity and life which cannot be improved upon by anything we resolve
to do by ourselves. "See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we
may be called the children of God" (1 Jn 3:1)... "We shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 Jn 3:2b).
In today's first
reading St. John says that we are sharers in the identity of Jesus Christ.
"Beloved, we are God's children now" (1 Jn 3:2a). As children of God
we are born of water and the Spirit, we share God's life, which is Holy. What a
great thing to hear at the start of the New Year 2015! This is the time when
most of us make resolutions to improve our lives and make them better -
refraining from all our bad habits. St. John speaks of our identity and life
which cannot be improved upon by anything we resolve to do by ourselves.
"See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the
children of God" (1 Jn 3:1). Furthermore, even though we have the promise
of eternal life as children of God, we await an even greater share in God's
life in the future. For we hear from St. John that "We shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is" (1 Jn 3:2b).
In the Gospel, John
the Baptist bears double witness to this Good News when he identifies Jesus
first as the "Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world," and
then as the "One Who will baptize with the Holy Spirit" (Jn 1:29b, 33b).
The Church invites
us in today's Responsorial Psalm to "Sing to the Lord a new song, for He
has done wondrous deeds" (Ps 98:1a). Praised be Jesus Christ!