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The next time you find yourself alone in a dark alley facing the undeniables of life, don’t cover them with a blanket, or ignore them with a nervous grin. Don’t turn up the TV and pretend they aren’t there. Instead, stand still, whisper his name, and listen. He is nearer than you think.
- Max Lucado
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1 JN 3:7-10; PS 98:1, 7-8, 9
JN 1:35-42
John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher),
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where he was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah," which is translated Christ.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas," which is translated Peter.
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture |
"Where do You stay?" —John 1:38
Two disciples of St. John the Baptist were following Jesus, but at a distance. This is often the way Christians follow Jesus. We try to do God's will for the most part, but intentionally keep Jesus more than "arm's length" away. We don't let Him get close to us. However, Jesus will turn around and challenge us by asking: "What are you looking for?" (Jn 1:38) If we truthfully answer Jesus' question, we may have to say that we're looking for
blessings, security, or peace of mind, although we should say we're looking for a deep, personal relationship with Him.
John's two disciples may have surprised themselves when they asked Jesus, " 'Rabbi (which means Teacher), where do You stay?' 'Come and see,' He answered. So they went to see where He was lodged, and stayed with Him that day" (Jn 1:38-39). Jesus wants His disciples to stay with Him, to have a relationship with Him that is deeply personal and totally consuming. He wants us to stay with Him when we leave church, go to work, talk with
non-Christians, eat, watch TV, play, and go to bed. If we don't accept Jesus as Lord of all, He's not Lord at all. If we don't stay with Him, we haven't truly followed Him.
Prayer: Father, beginning this Christmas season, may I stay with Jesus at the times when I previously left Him.
Promise: "It was to destroy the devil's works that the Son of God revealed Himself." —1 Jn 3:8
Presentation Ministries
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Abandonment to Divine Providence
- by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
CHAPTER II. THE DIVINE ACTION WORKS UNCEASINGLY FOR THE SANCTIFICATION OF SOULS.
SECTION III. How to Discover what is the Will of God.
The divine action places before us at every moment things of infinite value, and gives them to us according to the measure of our faith and love.
If we understood how to see in each moment some manifestation of the will of God we should find therein also all that our hearts could desire. In fact there could be nothing more reasonable, more perfect, more divine than the will of God. Could any change of time, place, or circumstance alter or increase its infinite value? If you possess the secret of discovering it at every moment and in everything, then you possess all that
is most precious, and most worthy to be desired. What is it that you desire, you who aim at perfection? Give yourselves full scope. Your wishes need have no measure, no limit. However much you may desire I can show you how to attain it, even though it be infinite. There is never a moment in which I cannot enable you to obtain all that you can desire. The present is ever filled with infinite treasure, it contains more than you have capacity to hold. Faith is the measure. Believe, and it will be
done to you accordingly. Love also is the measure. The more the heart loves, the more it desires; and the more it desires, so much the more will it receive. The will of God is at each moment before us like an immense, inexhaustible ocean that no human heart can fathom; but none can receive from it more than he has capacity to contain, it is necessary to enlarge this capacity by faith, confidence, and love.
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