It is 4th January 2021.
The readings are from 1 John 3:22 – 4:6 and the Gospel from Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25.
We tend to believe everything that is new, fancy, attractive and novelty without examining whether it is guided by God’s Spirit or of the evil one. For example, without verifying the sender and the motive, we tend to forward the messages in our social media platform, and we go to an extent of defending the message without sufficient verification and analysis. We live in a time information is abundant and it is mostly fake. Hence, we need to discern everything before we accept and promote them. We might be doing this due to ignorance, fear, lack of education or trusting in a wrong person.
The first reading is a reminder and reprimand for all of us to be careful in believing in everything or everyone who claims that they are guided by the Holy Spirit. We need not be afraid of them. We need to believe that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 Jn.4:4).
In the Gospel, As Jesus began His public ministry, Jesus wanted to prepare the minds of people by inviting them to be repented. “Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Mt. 4:17). Repentance is not an ideology but an action we need to constantly try to change. We have just begun a New Year. We wish to change something in our lives. It is not enough we have resolutions coupled with our motivation in writing, but we need to do something visibly and daily whether it is spiritual, physical or in any level of our life. By repeating the same old actions, we cannot achieve a desired new result. Let us “Bear fruit that befits repentance.” (Mt.3:8). May the Lord help us to examine everything thoroughly before we believe and pass on and ready to be repented to be open to the Word of God. Have a lovely day. God bless you.