A reading of the holy gospel according to John. This is the testimony of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? Of course, the John referred to here is John the Baptist. He confessed he did not deny but confessed, I am not the Christ.
And then they asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? John said, I am not. Well, then are you the prophet? And he answered, no.
They said to him then, who are you? Let us have some sort of an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? John answered, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the lord as the prophet Isaiah said.
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees, and they asked John, then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet. John answered them, I baptize with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. All of this took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan where John was baptizing, And this is the gospel of the lord. In the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, amen. As you notice, both the first reading and the second reading are from John.
And there's a phrase in that first reading I think we should take to heart. And it's this little sentence where John speaking to these early Christians, these early converts of his says to them, little children, abide in him. Well, who is the him? Well, it's Jesus Christ. Now I don't know though.
Remember these letters, whether they be Paul's letters or Peter's letters or John's letters, they are letters. And we only have one side of the correspondence. And these letters, every one of them, was written because of a certain particular, unique, peculiar situation that had arisen. And for the most part, we have very little information on that side of the correspondence. In most instances, all we could do is try to deduce from the letter something of the occasion that brought the letter to be written.
But as you know, this is this is sensitive and dangerous guesswork. But apparently, you see in the very early church, notice this is this is John. So you're you're dealing with the earliest days of the church, And John is saying, is the liar who he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? And he speaks of antichrists, and he speaks of those who are trying to deceive the faithful. This is the very early days of the church.
You see what the spirit of peace and tranquility abided there. There was very little of it, of the sort that we associate with peace and tranquility. And and and John's message in this first reading is this, you have been anointed, you have been baptized, and you're safe against these deceivers. But then he says, my little children, abide in him. Abide in him.
What better message could we take into our own hearts on the second day of January that we pray to god that we abide in his son. In the name of the father and of the son and the holy spirit. Amen.