God reveals: the Christ within us

WORD 2day: Saturday after the Christmas Octave

January 4, 2025 -  1 John 3: 7-10; John 1: 35-42

What the Word wishes to communicate today, proceeds from where it left yesterday, in fact, in continuity with the themes of revelation we have been discussing in the past two days. First we said, the revelation is about Jesus as Christ, and yesterday we reflected on how this Christ is the spotless Lamb of God. Today the Word tells us, we are like Christ too - children of God, as Christ was the Son of God. 

When Christ, in Jesus became just like us, he revealed to us that in the core of our beings we are just like him! We are begotten children of God. Let no one deceive us to believe anything on the contrary, warns St. John today in the first reading. Yesterday, when the Word said, Christ is spotless and we are called to be so: that is sinless, we might have had an instant question, "is it possible at all?" And Christ wishes to respond to us today - Yes, it is possible.

How is it possible? Because we are Christs too - the Gospel says, Christ means anointed and each of us has been anointed, right when God chose us to be children of God by the anointment of the Chrism, at our baptism. Jesus the Christ tells us today, that it is not only true that he became one among us, but it is equally true that he has made us ones like him, sons and daughters of God, begotten of God! The challenge is that we recognise it, get convinced of it and begin to live it in our daily life, because all the ends have seen the salvation of the Lord and we are the chosen instruments to experience and announce that salvation.

When John pointed out to the Lamb, there were persons who were ready to take a readical decision to follow Christ, to go where Christ is, to stay with Christ and become like him! That is our call too - to become like Christ, that is to distinguish ourselves as children of God, living a holy life and loving our brothers and sisters. We are saved by Jesus the Christ, but we shall experience that salvation only as long as we make a choice to, go out there and live like him!