Reading 1 1 Jn 3:11-21
Beloved:
This is the message you have heard from the beginning:
we should love one another,
unlike Cain who belonged to the Evil One
and slaughtered his brother.
Why did he slaughter him?
Because his own works were evil,
and those of his brother righteous.
Do not be amazed, then, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
We know that we have passed from death to life
because we love our brothers.
Whoever does not love remains in death.
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer,
and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.
The way we came to know love
was that he laid down his life for us;
so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
If someone who has worldly means
sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion,
how can the love of God remain in him?
Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.
Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn,
for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
R. (2a) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
The LORD is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Gospel Jn 1:43-51
Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip.
And Jesus said to him, "Follow me."
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and told him,
"We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,
and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth."
But Nathanael said to him,
"Can anything good come from Nazareth?"
Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
"Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him."
Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."
Nathanael answered him,
"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Do you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this."
And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see the sky opened and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Meditation: 1 John 3:11-21
“Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” (1 John 3:18)
Talk is cheap. It’s easy to say: “I care about you,” but someone who is insecure or has been hurt in the past may not believe you. He may well respond with a challenge: “Prove it!” It creates quite an ironic situation: It becomes very difficult to show love to the very person who so deeply needs it!
Isn’t that how we can be with God sometimes? Especially in those times when we don’t feel very lovable, we have a hard time believing that God’s love is complete and unconditional. This kind of love lies so far beyond our experience that we don’t dare believe it can be real, even though it’s just what we are longing for—and even though it’s exactly what we need. Instead of taking God at his word or quieting our hearts long enough to come in touch with his love, we turn away sadly. We may even “misbehave” in order to prove that he can’t possibly love us.
Jesus won’t argue with us about this, because his approach is long on loving actions, but short on declarations of love. He expresses his love far more “in deed and truth” than he does “in word and speech” (1 John 3:18). He shows his love by forgiving sins, healing sicknesses, welcoming outcasts, and restoring broken relationships. Only once in the Gospels did Jesus say: “I love you” (John 13:34). And even this declaration was sandwiched between two dramatic demonstrations of that love: He had just washed his disciples’ feet, and he was about to open his arms wide on the cross.
Do you want to know a secret? It’s going to happen again today! At some point in the day, God is going to show you how much he loves you. Somehow, he is going to send a personalized “love note” meant only for you. It may happen at Mass or during your prayer time. It may come in the form of help when you most need it, or it may come through a kind gesture from a friend. So keep your eyes and ears open. God loves you—immensely!
“Thank you, Jesus, for loving me unconditionally. Help me to receive that love today. Teach me how to build my life on it, too, as my one solid foundation.”
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