Saturday, January 3, 2026

 

Christmas weekday

(I John 2:29-3:6; John 1:29-34)

Two children who just made their First Holy Communion were discussing their “Communion gifts.”  One child, after naming her gifts, asked the other, “What did you get for Communion?”  the other child responded, “Isn’t Jesus enough?”  Of course, he is more than enough.

Today’s first reading tells us of the “love the Father bestowed upon us.”  That love is Jesus.  He is, of course, the source of all Christmas gifts.  For this reason, I squirm when I attend a Christmas party which features a so-called “Chinese gift exchange.”  Not only does the name betray bigotry, the idea of taking someone’s gift to satisfy our hidden desire seems to betray the love of God given us in Jesus.

The magnificence of this gift is suggested in today’s Gospel.  John points to Jesus and says, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”   Have you ever done something so wrong that you wished with all your heart it might be undone?  Undoing our sin, at least where it matters most, is the reason that Jesus is enough.

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