it is the last hour

The Lectionary of the Roman Catholic Church comes to the end of the calendar year with texts from John which bring the old year to an end with a letter that warns of the anti-Christ forces who are attempting to destroy the relationship between humanity and the Divine. The intimate communion with Jesus is this relationship. The text from the Gospel of John welcomes the new year with the Incarnation description. This Gospel relates the event of the “Word becomes flesh” in language that reaches to put in words that which is beyond human expression. John presents Jesus, foretold by John, eternally in the world since Creation and being born in flesh and living among us. The psalmist exhorts us to sing a new song in praise of the Lord who brings righteousness and truth to the world.