May the Lord give you peace and grace in the Holy Spirit.
It is 29th December 2021. We reflect on 1 John 2:3-11 and Luke 2:22-35.
Light comes by relating with ourselves, others and primarily God. Living in light means to relate with everyone without any hate towards the other. A deprived, distracted, and distractive way of relating with others either decreases the light or forces us to live in darkness. Hence, incapable of relating with others is the darkness we all need to dispel and deal with daily.
We are all created by God to love in all circumstances. Sadly, we have become so narcissistic, self-centred, and selfish in loving, instead of loving authentically and unreservedly, we justify hating others due to our liking for someone or something important than the one who sparked the first love.
Are we taking relationships for granted? Some of us keep relationships for material, physical or to gain an emotional advantage. Relating with others does not end within the family circle. We are all relatives in one way or other. Whenever we boast about our blood relationship, we exclude the other person unconsciously.
To know means to love. True love begins to happen by following the words of the one in whom we have placed our trust. Love is the light of our hearts. Whenever love is shaded, it turns to be darkness. Therefore, love and light are connected to hate and darkness. “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.” (1 John 2:9)
In the Gospel, we reflect on the purification of Jesus in the temple. It is the ritual of redemption. Jesus being a firstborn needed to offer this. It is because God protected the first-born children of Israel.
There are three canticles sang in response to what God has done to them: Zachariah, Mary, and Simeon praised God. We all owe a canticle of praise and thanksgiving to God as we are about to close this most challenging year of our existence.
Loving God means to love others. Loving others does not exclude loving God and again loving God cannot be highlighted or prioritised to a level at the cost of neglecting or refusing to love the people around.
May the Lord help each one of us to love without grudge, guilt, and greed. God bless you.