January 5^th 2014. SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

Gospel: John 1:1-5; 9-14

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

GOSPEL:                                John 1:1-5; 9-14

 In the beginning was the Word: 
and the Word was with God 
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be, 
not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him 
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark, 
a light that darkness could not overpower

The Word was the true light 
that enlightens all men; 
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world 
that had its being through him, 
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain 
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him 
he gave power to become children of God, 
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock 
or urge of the flesh 
or will of man 
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, 
and we saw his glory, 
the glory that is his 
as the only Son of the Father, 
full of grace and truth.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary  . . . . This passage places in front of us the meaning and fulcrum of history - Jesus. He is the true light and he has appeared in the darkness of my loneliness, my poverty, my doubt. I have been busy celebrating Christmas and the New Year, but have I really welcomed the appearance of this light in my life? Have I made him the beginning, the end, the fulcrum of my existence? Since the time of the fall, humanity has made itself the measure of reality. When we are confronted by problems we try to sort them out on our own terms and are always quick to fall into despair. All of humanity’s problems are traceable to the fact that the core relationship in our lives – our relationship with God – is amiss. If we are really to welcome Jesus this Christmas, then we must make this passage of the Gospel come true in our lives: we must make Jesus the principle and beginning of everything we do and are. The gift of God’s tender love to us is a pure gift. It does not depend on us. That is just how God is. He considers us to be so important that he becomes flesh and dies on the cross from us. But if God’s love is pure gift, it is still up to me to welcome it! No-one else can welcome this light in my place. Jesus is shining in the darkness of my existence and invites me to welcome him so that the darkness can be eliminated.

This Gospel presents us with the One who is the fulcrum of history. But is he the fulcrum of MY history?

Once again we consider this profound passage of John’s Gospel that animates the liturgy of the Christmas period. The text speaks about the beginning of all things, and it uses language that evokes the first words of the Book of Genesis - “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The solution to the central problem of our lives is described by St Paul as the “recapitulation of all things in Christ”. What does this mean? It refers to the process by which all things are restored to their original state of being. It is essential that proper order is restored in our lives. What is at the core of my life? Where do the things that dominate my life originate from? If I do not place my relationship with God at the centre of my being, then the things that happen in my life have a defective point of departure. If a cannon is set up at even the slightest defective angle, then its shot will go in the wrong direction and miss the target completely. We too must have the fundamental direction of our lives in order from the beginning. What appear to be small “defects” in our fundamental relationship with God will have large consequences for our actions.

From the moment of the fall, humanity has made itself the fulcrum of its existence. But we will never sort out our problems unless we get the fundamental relationship in our life sorted out first – our relationship with God

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God . .  . All that came to be had life in him, and that life was the light of humankind.” What is the light of my life? Where does my life’s activities take its origin from? The third chapter of the Book of Genesis tells about the fall. From this moment on the human being behaves as if his existence depended only on himself. When Jesus is tempted in the desert, Satan takes him to the pinnacle of the temple and tells him to take the initiative and throw himself off so that God is forced to reveal himself. In the same way we are repeatedly confronted by situations of difficulty and we are tempted to think that the solution to the problem depends on us. We take it upon ourselves to be the fulcrum of reality, the principal mover in the world. Often when we see other people in difficulty we chastise them, thinking that they ought to sort out their problems by themselves. We expect other people to change in response to the scolding that we give them! But the real issue is that these problems arise from an origin that we have not recognized. The solution does not just consist in making cosmetic changes in our lives. The true origin of all things is in the love of God. The human being is capable of doing horrible things, but even the most hateful situations can be resolved if we rediscover the Lord at the centre of our being, our lives, our relationships. The shame and doubt that plague us arise from the fact that we have not recognized that in the beginning, at the core of all things, is the Lord.

The true light that enlightens human existence is the unwavering love of God for us. We celebrate Christmas, but do we truly welcome this light into our lives?

Before everything else, the fundamental reality is the love of God. This is the light that enlightens the world! My entire existence must revolve around the one who has given himself for me, around the one who considers me worthy of his total sacrifice and commitment, to the extent of shedding his blood on the cross! If I do not have him as my starting point, then my life is distorted and compressed. I will go through all my days seeking in vain to make sense of my existence. Let us welcome this light! We celebrate Christmas, the new year, the Epiphany, but do we really welcome this light into our lives? This light is the love and welcome that the Lord has shown towards us; the absolute priority that he has given us. We must learn to live in the light of the fact that he loves us. Instead I look at the world as if I were alone in it. I look at the difficulties of life in relation to my impoverished capacities to deal with them. But this is mistaken. The true light is coming into the world and it is shining in the darkness, the darkness of my loneliness, my poverty, my doubt. This darkness is illuminated only by the tenderness of God.

God’s gift of himself is pure gift. It does not depend on us, but it is up to me to welcome it. No-one can welcome this light in my place.

As the Gospel tells us, it is not from the will of man, nor from human stock, nor from the flesh that a child of God can be generated. It is not something that can simply be learned from our parents. Even if my mother and father are saints, it is still up to me to welcome the light. No-one can do it in my place. And it is not simply a business of me trying with my own efforts to live in a certain way. No matter how much I apply my flesh, my character, my talents to the task, I am not capable of producing something eternal. And no other person apart from the Lord can make me whole. Only God can generate genuine transformation in the heart of people. Certainly, there are a lot of good qualities in humanity. People are capable of doing wonderful things. But the life that shines in the darkness, the light that is greater than the light of the sun, the light that illuminates every person, comes only as a gift from God. It is pure grace, entire gift. The fact is that we give a poor welcome to the grace of the incarnation, the gift of Christmas, the tender mercy of Jesus! And our welcome is poor because we are constantly trying to make ourselves the measure and justification of our lives. But in the beginning there was something else, something more important than us! This true beginning is our rest, the source of our life and the source of salvation.

Don Fabio takes the occasion to wish everyone a new year full of grace! He encourages us all not to give in to sadness but to open our hearts to gratitude, to peace and to light, contemplating the eternal patience that the Lord has shown towards us.