HOMILIES
Peter said to the people: "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence when he had decided to release him. You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses. Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did; but God has thus brought to fulfillment what He had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer. Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away."
(P) The word of the Lord.When I call, answer me, O my just God, you who relieve me when I am in distress; have pity on me, and hear my prayer! (R)
Know that the Lord does wonders for His faithful one; the Lord will hear me when I call upon Him. (R)
O Lord, let the light of your countenance shine upon us! You put gladness into my heart. (R)
As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep; for you alone, O Lord, bring security to my dwelling. (R)
My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocated with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Those who say, "I know him," but do not keep his commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.
(P) The word of the Lord.The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this, Jesus stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, "Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."
(P) The Gospel of the Lord.We believe that St John, one of the first chosen apostles of Jesus, wrote his first letter to urge the early Christian communities to hold fast to what they had been taught and to repudiate heretical teachings and the corrupt ways of false teachers. In today's text of the second reading, 1 John (2:1-5a), John writes, "My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin," 1 John (2:1a). Here, John addressed the believers as his children and in doing so, he made himself known that he is like a father who cares for his children's well-being, especially their spiritual well-being. Then, he pointed out the purpose for writing this letter. He wanted them to have a safeguard against sinning.
To understand this verse better we can consider the well-known biblical story in the gospel of John; the woman caught in adultery being brought before Jesus, John (7:53-8:11). First, Jesus said to those who accused the woman of committing adultery, "Let anyone without sin be the first one to throw a stone at her." By that Jesus meant all of them were sinners, from the most pious Jew, who dropped his stone, to the adulterous woman, who stood there shivering in terror and shame. Second, Jesus told the woman, "Neither do I condemn you." Here, Jesus made it clear that forgiveness is reserved for God alone and that it is extended to every sinner, regardless of sins. And then third, Jesus exhorted the woman, "Go and sin no more." In other words, Jesus wanted all believers to live forever in perfect freedom of sin, death, and every evil. In the same way, with a mix of fatherly tenderness, pastoral comfort, and apostolic authority, John urged the early followers of Jesus to avoid sin.
But then, John says, "if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one," 1 John (2:1-2). Here, like Jesus, John recognized the sinfulness of all mankind. He realized that despite their best efforts to avoid sin, believers are still capable of sin. However, he made it clear that in times of sin, we have hope through Jesus Christ, who serves as our advocate with the Father. This is indeed a great message of reassurance for all Christians. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that John, as the spiritual father calling on his children to avoid sin, included himself among the sinners and admitted that like everyone else he too was imperfect and, therefore, had recourse to the advocate.
Now, what does John mean when he calls Jesus "our Advocate"? The word "advocate" literally means one who pleads a case on behalf of someone else or an intercessor in a court of law. In the same way, John portrays Jesus Christ as the one who intercedes for believers before God, standing as the defense lawyer or defense attorney. Yet Jesus' work as our Advocate goes far above and beyond the work of an earthly defense lawyer, for His case for us is based not on our life and actions, but rather on His life and actions. An earthly lawyer argues for the innocence of a client. But Jesus Christ, our advocate or lawyer in heaven, only defends those who confess their guilt. He admits our guilt, and then pleads for mercy on our behalf on the basis of His own perfect life. And therefore, John calls Jesus Christ, the righteous advocate.
Additionally, John describes, "He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world," 1 John (2:2). Here, John moves from the heavenly courtroom into the temple. From Christ being the advocate who speaks in favour of sinners in the presence of God despite their sins to Christ being the expiation for our sins, meaning that just as the sacrificial lambs were offered on the temple altar to make atonement for man's sin, through His sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus secured God's mercy not just for ourselves but for the whole world.
John further says, "The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Those who say, "I know him," but do not keep his commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them," 1 John (2:3-4). Here, John emphasizes the importance of obedience to Jesus' teachings as a way to know Him and to be known by Him. As John wrote these things to encourage the believers to reject sin, he also wanted them to realize that they could not be Christians if they would not live or act in the manner that Christ taught them to live. Those who claim to know God but choose to ignore or disobey God's commands are living in falsehood.
John concludes with a declaration saying, "But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him," 1 John (2:5a). God's love is already perfect. So, here, John did not mean that when we keep God's Word, then God's love is perfect toward us. Rather, he meant that our love of God reaches maturity or perfection. It means that we are perfected in God's love. It essentially consists in increasing our capacity in both receiving God's love and giving God's love to others. Jesus Himself said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." Keeping God's Word or commandments means we hear, trust, submit and surrender to God and His Word. True knowledge and love of Christ lead to a transformed life marked by obedience.
What is the message for us?
John reminds us of God's desire for us, as His children and saved people in Christ through baptism is to break from sin at all costs. He is not saying that we will live in sinless perfection but rather we strive to avoid those individual acts of sin, even the smallest of things, such as drunkenness, greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, etc., which harm us or cause a feeling of separation between ourselves and our Lord and others. Sin is addictive. If we "allow" sin into our life, Jesus said that we become a slave to it, John (8:34). Therefore, as Christians, we must be serious about avoiding sin. We must daily examine ourselves and resolve not to sin again. We must diligently guard against any bad outside influence, thought, or force that comes our way. This force may come from temptations stemming from our human condition, our enemies, and even from those who are close to us. If we open the door to any of them, it could destroy our heart and we will live in destruction.
However, we are not exempted from the presence of sin and the enemies of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Like everybody else in this world, there are times when we stumble and fall, when we fall prey to sin. And when we do, we have our advocate Jesus Christ, who appears in God's presence for us. He is our defender. He bears the condemnation we deserve for our sin and acquits us of our guilt. His atoning sacrifice is once-for-all sufficient for us. All of us have access to this gift. None of us is excluded from redemption. So, once we know that we have a problem, we must confess, turn away from it, and seek God's gift of forgiveness and total deliverance from guilt, shame and embarrassment for our debt has already been paid by our Lord Jesus Christ. Forgiveness is what restores the relationship that has been broken.
At the same time, let us remember that our knowledge of God must be accompanied by our love for God. And we should show our love for Him by obeying His Word, not just talking about it or claiming to know Him. If we disobey Him, we are lying to ourselves and others. But if we obey Him, we will experience increasing joy, peace, and fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ and fellow believers. We will also become increasingly more mature in our Christian faith and, more and more like Christ. John Newton, who in the early part of his life was an outspoken atheist, libertine, and slave-trader, but later converted and became a minister of the gospel, and who wrote one of the most famous hymns in history, "Amazing Grace", said of himself, "I am not what I ought to be; but I am not what I once was. And it is by the grace of God that I am what I am".
Well, by coming to God for forgiveness, we too will be confident to say of ourselves that we are different than we once were. We shall pray that our life may be characterized by obedience to Christ's commandments so as to live in Him forever.
(P) Amen.God Bless You!
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