WORD 2day: Friday after Epiphany
Jan 10, 2020: 1 John 5: 5-13; Luke 5: 12-16
First, the waters of baptism that cleanse, as Jesus cleanses the person with leprosy in the Gospel. Water is very material and refers to our humanity. Even at the Eucharist when the priest adds the drop of water to the chalice of wine to be consecrated, he says it symbolises our humanity. It is our humanity that we bring and the Lord sanctifies it and empowers it. Let us thank God for our humanity.
Secondly, the Blood of Jesus shed on the Cross once and for all, which saves us from eternal damnation and promises us eternal life. Blood of Christ is the Divinity that God was ready to shed for the sake of our salvation; it is the Blood of Christ that makes us people of God - the Blood that is shed for us and for all, for all who accept that Blood and be connected to the Lord. Let us adore the Son of God for the Blood he shed for us.
Thirdly, the Spirit of the Lord that is given to us, poured into our hearts as a seal of God's love for us, that which makes us children of God! Spirit is that which brings the water and the Blood together - on the Cross when from the side of Christ flowed water and blood, we received the Spirit which brings humanity and divinity together, making us realise that we are truly made in the image and likeness of God. Let us receive the Spirit within our hearts.
We have the Son, always for us and with us, and so we have the eternal life that God promises in the Spirit. The Lord has made us His own, at baptism, in the cleansing water, in the saving blood and in the sanctifying Spirit and we joyfully belong to the Lord!