Saturday of the octave of Christmas (30th Dec.)
1 John 2:12-17 Luke 2:36-40
Theme: Do not love the world
In the 1st reading of today, St. John admonishes us not to love the things of the world or the things in the world. What this simply means is that we should rather love the things of God if we want to abide in him by going in accordance with his directives. The things of the world and the ways of the world are guided by the flesh, while the things of God are guided by the spirit. In view of this, as children of God, we should always be conscious of the fact that we are in the world but not of the world. This is very important, if we truly desire to abide in God and make heaven at the end of our earthly pilgrimage. As a result of this, we must be intentional about our worship of God, lest we allow the attractions of the world to make us lose sight of what truly matters to us as children of God.
It is our desire as children of God to abide forever with the Lord, so we must make effort not to allow worldly attractions to make us lose focus of what truly matters to us as children of God. Placing the ways of the world side by side the way of God, one may liken it to entering through the narrow gate and passing through the wide path. It is left for you as an individual to decide which way you want to embrace; the choice is yours to make. Ordinarily as children of God, it is expected that we will all decide to embrace the way of God by entering through the narrow gate. However, the question is whether we are prepared to enter through the narrow gate. It is like one swimming against the current, unlike the ways of the world that just carry you as it flows along, you don’t have to make much effort.
We are all encouraged in today’s liturgy to do all within our power to follow the way of God and abide in his love. That way we will be able to handle all worldly attractions and stay away from the things of the world that will make us lose sight of the things of God that will lead us to eternal life at the end of our earthly pilgrimage. It is left for us to make a choice and decide which side of the divide we belong to. You can decide to either stand for the ways of the world or for the ways of God, the choice is yours to make. May almighty God bless you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, Amen. Peace be with you.