3 January 2020
Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus
The statement John makes in today’s 1st reading is incredible. It is only faith that makes it believable: We are children of God now and what we shall be when we see him is that we shall be like him. Like God!
How can we grasp that? When John wrote it, how many people knew Christ or Christians, and yet that is the destiny of those who are baptized, a promise that will be manifest at the Last Judgment.
Does grasping this mystery help when we recall Paul’s analogy? We see God now, Paul wrote, as in a mirror, but we shall see him one day face-to-face; then, in order to see him, we must be like him? Meanwhile, the baptized have Christ in their minds, hearts and hands – intellectually, spiritually and actively.
Reflecting on this “divine filiation mystery” might enable us to appreciate more the Gospel that describes Jesus, animated by the Holy Spirit at his baptism, and who went forth preaching the Good News. He continues to come now, inviting us to live his filial life, to reveal the plan the Father has for each of us.