The Spirit, the water and the Blood

January 11, 2019

Friday after the Epiphany
1 John 5: 5- 13; Luke 5: 12-16

'I have nothing to prove' - that would be an integral way of living! But, the culture today seems to be full of demands for proofs and credentials and a craze to get oneself noticed. We live in a culture of ads and publicity. We are fond of proving to the world, our superiority and our credibility. 

It takes extreme forms like people going to any extent to attain success and parade it to the world or at times even silly forms like craving for 'likes' on a facebook post! There are times today, when we feel we are worth, only when the world around thinks of us so, or only when the society certifies us so. There is a dearth of space for personal integrity and moral authority - everything is ruled by opinions!

The first reading outlines three testimonies for Son, or three testimonies  for the definitive intervention of God in history. The same three testimonies: the Spirit, the water and the blood, are given to us... at our baptism, to testify to our relationship with God: as God's children! The Spirit which is the mark of being God's children(Rom 8:16); the Waters of baptism, the waters of eternal life that spring within us to cleanse us and make us belong to God (Jn 7:38); and the Blood that washes us clean (1 Jn 1:7). It is our life in the Spirit, our waters of belonging to God and the blood in which we are saved, which are the marks of our Christian identity!

We have nothing to prove, we belong to the Lord. Our life, our witness, our love shall be integral proofs of our life in the Lord!