Daily Gospel
READING OF THE DAY
A reading from the First Letter of John
1 JN 2:29–3:6
If you consider that God is righteous,
you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness
is begotten by him.
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness,
for sin is lawlessness.
You know that he was revealed to take away sins,
and in him there is no sin.
No one who remains in him sins;
no one who sins has seen him or known him.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to John
Jn 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
Tuesday, Christmas Weekday
January 3, 2023
(Jn 1:29-34)
God’s Word for Us
Dear People of God,
The Word of God today speaks of John the Baptist as a witness of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came to earth as a man.
John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” He is the Lamb without blemish, which the prophet Isaiah prophesied to everyone: He is God’s servant, the Lamb that God sent into the world to atone for the sins of mankind. God also revealed: No one can atone for the sins of mankind, and no one loves people more than God Himself. He sacrificed His whole life to die and atone for human sins and to save people from the captivity of Satan.
John’s testimony gives people a better understanding of Jesus Christ as God, as evidenced by: When Saint John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, God the Father allowed him to see the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon Jesus Christ and a voice from heaven said, ‘“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”’ Today, this testimony continues to resound: Jesus Christ is the true God, and the Son of God come to earth as a man to atone for the sins of mankind. He erased all the sins, filth, and uncleanness from people who sinned but who truly repented and returned to God the Father. Only love, which the Son of God born into the world as a human, has the power to remove all sin and all suffering from the human soul and body.
Today, God invites all mankind:
– Believe in the testimony of Saint John, which is true, because he believed and gave his life to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. John dedicated his whole life to preaching and testifying about God’s coming to earth to take away all suffering and all sins for humanity.
– Run to God, because only He can heal the wounds caused by human sins. God loves people; He always opens His arms to wait for people to return and run to His loving heart.
Thanks Be to God. Amen.