Heavenward!

 





















In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

Today is the last day of a year that has been very different from any other year before it. Covid-19 forced us to confront our mortality, even as it shook many of the things we put our faith in to their very foundations. But most of us have survived. And, having learned our lessons — hopefully — we enter a new year a little older and a little wiser. So, what's a good message to close the year? How about these words that we heard John saying today: "To all who received Jesus, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12).

If we are baptized in Christ, we become children of God. But although we often profess this, we are inclined to believe this is just a figure of speech. We can't really be God's children, can we? Not in the sense that Jesus is God's child? But this is precisely what we are: children of God. In confirmation, Paul said, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:16). We are heirs of God! To be an heir is to be an inheritor. What belongs to a father belongs to his children. Consequently, what belongs to God the Father, belongs to us!

To clear any doubt about the scope of inheritance, Paul says that we are co-heirs with Christ. What is Jesus' is also ours! Yet how many of us believe that? We often walk in the world like paupers, approaching our Father with a begging bowl in hand. We ask him to bless us when he already has blessed us with everything we need – and beyond measure! This is what John is talking about when he says (I paraphrase), "We have all received, grace upon grace, from the fullness of God!" It is a tragedy that we don't know what we have received because we don't know who we are. We are all born again, made new in Christ, whole and holy in him.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Let us put on the new garments of sonship if we haven't already. And if we have been wearing them but forgotten who we are on occasion, let us put the mistakes behind us. When Paul failed, he declared: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). 

Let us put the past behind us and move forward. Let us move heavenward!

A new year is coming. It's gonna be an awesome one!

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here:https://youtu.be/zBFs8KG5rlA


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