Nature’s Canvas
(Ipsos stock photo)
In the heart of nature's canvas, stands a profound tableau, on the right, the verdant embrace of summer reigns supreme. Here, the emerald foliage dances in the gentle caress of a sunlit breeze, whispering secrets of vitality and renewal. The blue expanse above is adorned with the brilliant hues of optimism, where hope takes flight on wings of endless possibility. Life pulses through every leaf and blade, growth and abundance resonating in harmony with the rhythm of creation.
On the left, a stark transformation unfolds. The earth lies barren and cracked by drought. Branches stretch like skeletal fingers towards a foreboding sky. The heavens above mirror this descent into shadows, painted in hues of brown and gold, a solemn tribute to the fading light.
The timeless truths woven into the fabric of existence. Light and dark, life and death, truth and falsehood - each opposing force vies for supremacy.
We cannot linger in indecision, nor dwell in the neutrality of the middle ground. To truly live is to embrace the radiance of illumination, to walk boldly in the footsteps of truth and virtue. It is to heed the call of our higher purpose, to transcend the constraints of mortal existence and embrace the eternal light that guides our path.
Let us stand firm, rooted in the soil of our convictions. It is the Spirit that bears witness for the Spirit is Truth.
Lectio
1John 5:1-6
Jerusalem Bible:
1.Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God, and whoever loves the father loves the son. 2.In this way we know that we love God's children, when we love God and keep his commandments. 3.This is what the love of God is: keeping his commandments. Nor are his commandments burdensome, 4.because every child of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. 5.Who can overcome the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6.He it is who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with water alone but with water and blood, and it is the Spirit that bears witness, for the Spirit is Truth.
The English Standard Bible:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
New Catholic Bible:
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the father loves the one begotten by him. 2 In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. 5 Who is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth.
Meditatio
The Epistle of John, like his Gospel, testifies that we have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He emphasises the immutability and sureness of the Christian message by frequently repeating the phrase “ from the beginning…” (chapter 1:1[1]; 2:7, 13, 14,24, 3:11).
Not believing after so many testimonies is to make God a liar (5:10) But now the child of God relies on certainties. “We know…” the apostle repeats (vv. 2,13[2],18,19,20).
It appears from the epistle that towards the end of the 1st century, false teachers infiltrated among the Christians: they denied that Christ was the Son of God (chapter 2:18-23), did not recognise that the eternal Son became man (chapter 4:1-3) and judged useless a life of faith in justice and brotherly love.
Faced with these attacks directed against the Christian faith, John focuses on authentic fellowship with God. John’s readers need assurance that they have embraced the true gospel that comes from the apostles. He therefore stresses that they, and not other rival groups, possess what was passed down from the beginning. They are the ones whose faith is victorious (5:4) and whose fellowship with God is certain (3:24[3]), provided they walk in the light (1:7), confess their sins (1:9), keep the commandments, and love one another in word and deed (3:18).
The difference between true and false believers emerges as John divides the world into light and darkness (1:5), truth and error (4:6), love and hate (2:10-11), life and death (3:14), Christ and antichrist (2:22).
The line that runs between these contrasts is also the line that distinguishes the children of God from the children of satan (3:10). At the height of all these reflections stands the triune God, who is light, life and love (1:5[4]; 5:11[5] 4:8[6]).
The fellowship that believers enjoy with the Father rests on the grace of divine life that is given us by the Son and abides in us by the indwelling of the Spirit (3:24). This gives John the boldness to insist that we are truly children of God (3:1) born of the Father (3:9) for eternal life (5:13).
ORATIO
Lord, as we immerse ourselves in the wisdom of John's Epistle, we find assurance that eternal life is ours through faith in Jesus Christ, Your Son. In every verse, we hear the echo of this certainty.
Help us hold fast to Your truth amidst doubt and deception. Grant us discernment to recognize authentic fellowship with You and the strength to walk in Your light, confess our sins, and love one another.
May we stand firmly on Your side, guided by Your light and fuelled by Your love.
We declare ourselves Your children, born for eternal life through Your grace and the indwelling of Your Spirit.
Amen.
CONTEMPLATIO
1. "True faith in Jesus Christ is not only a matter of believing intellectually but of letting oneself be changed by him, transformed in the depths of one's being." – Pope Francis
2. "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
3. "Silence is God’s first language; everything else is a poor translation." - Thomas Keating
4. "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity."
- Simone Weil
5. “The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little”.
- Thomas Merton
6. "God is at home. It is we who have gone for a walk."
- Meister Eckhart
[1] Something which has existed since the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have watched and touched with our own hands, the Word of life, this is our theme.
[2] You have come to know the One who has existed since the beginning…
[3] Whoever keeps his commandments remains in God, and God in him. And this is the proof that he remains in us: the Spirit that he has given us.
[4] … God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
[5] God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
[6] Whoever fails to love does not know God, because God is love.