A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (Jn 3: 31 – 36)
The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves The Son and has given everything over to Him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys The Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
“By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity”. This is the prayer Deacons or priest elevate to God during the mass as the wine and water is poured into the chalice. It speaks of God’s divine plan to unite the two realms: the spiritual and the material.
God, the Father, along with the angels, are of the spiritual realm. Humanity and all of God’s creation is of the material realm. Jesus, on the other hand, is of both realms. In His person reside the properties of both realities. He is fully human and fully divine.
Jesus, the only Son of God, though of equal essence of God, he humbled himself by taking human form. Jesus further desired to be born of a humble woman, who was from a humble town, to have for a crib a humble trough and to have a humble, simple man as an earthly father. When the fullness of time had come, Jesus showed us the way back to the Heavenly Father.
Through the centuries since then, scores of Jesus’ followers, men and women who were of earthly origin, lived their lives in accord to Jesus’ teachings and have been admitted into the heavenly kingdom. They have died in and to the material world, and now they have been reborn in the spiritual world.
For all of us, who are born of this material reality, it should be our aim to live out our lives in accord to all of Jesus’ teachings. It should be our desire to one day share in the Divinity of Christ; to fulfilled God’s divine plan to unite Heaven and Earth and be part of the community of angels and saints in heaven.
At every mass, we ask God that, through the merits of Jesus’ choosing to vest himself of human state, of his blood and water that flowed out of his heart at the crucifixion, may we, in turn, chose to follow His teaching and reach up day after day to share in his divinity. In other words, as the prayer suggests, we pray that we, while born of the material world, may also one day be fully born of the spiritual world.
Action of the Day
Every night, just before you go to bed, take a few minutes to reflect on your day. Particularly, reflect on the things you have said, done or thought that were not reflective of a Christian life. Ask God to help you do better the next day, and the next day, and every day after. Make amends whenever and for whom ever may be necessary. You will see that, soon enough, you will be on the way to sharing in the divinity of Christ.
Audio Reflection:
