Friday, January 11, 2013

Mark of the Spirit and the fire


The Roman Catholic Lectionary offers a few views of the nature of God in the texts chosen for today. The First Letter of John presents three witnesses to Christ as God, the Spirit, water and blood. Audrey West points out that this Letter is written to believers who are being attacked for their belief in the humanity and Divinity of Jesus. She points to the Gospel of John 5:33-37, where Jesus invokes the testimony of His works to support belief in His Essence. The Spirit which resonates in the indwelling spirit of the believer shows the Baptism and Cross of Jesus (water and blood) to be witness to the Divine with us in Jesus flesh. The psalmist praises God who protects and is strong in the defense of Jerusalem yet is concerned with the life of the broken and dispossessed. The Gospel of Luke tells of the healing of a leper. The crowd following Jesus is attracted to Him as One who speaks with great experience of God and Love. The action of extending healing hands to the unclean and outcast is the Love in the flesh. Our witness of the life of Christ in the world today is the joy, peace and healing we bring as we extend a hand to those who break into our journey to bring their lives into ours.

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