CHRISTMAS WEEKDAY Gospel (Jn 1:29-34) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.” (Jn 1:34)

FIRST READING - 1 John 2:29–3:6

A reading form the First letter of John

If you consider that God is righteous,

you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness

is begotten by him.

See what love the Father has bestowed on us

that we may be called the children of God.

Yet so we are.

The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Beloved, we are God’s children now;

what we shall be has not yet been revealed.

We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,

for we shall see him as he is.

Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,

as he is pure.

Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness,

for sin is lawlessness.

You know that he was revealed to take away sins,

and in him there is no sin.

No one who remains in him sins;

no one who sins has seen him or known him.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - John 1:29-34

From the Gospel according to John

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

He is the one of whom I said,

'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me

because he existed before me.'

I did not know him,

but the reason why I came baptizing with water

was that he might be made known to Israel."

John testified further, saying,

"I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky

and remain upon him.

I did not know him,

but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,

'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,

he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'

Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."

CHRISTMAS WEEKDAY Gospel (Jn 1:29-34)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God today speaks of Saint John the Baptist testifying about Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came down to earth and became man.

Saint John said: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." He is the spotless Lamb, as the prophet Isaiah foretold to everyone: He is the faithful servant of God, the Lamb that God sent to earth to atone for the sins of humanity. God also revealed: No one can atone for the sins of humanity, and no one loves humanity more than God Himself. He sacrificed His own life to die to atone for the sins of humanity, to save humanity from the captivity of Satan.

The testimony of Saint John increasingly helps people understand more clearly that Jesus Christ is God. The evidence is that when Saint John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, God let Saint John see the spirit of the Holy Spirit like a dove descending on Jesus Christ. A voice from heaven said: 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.' Today, this testimony continues to resonate with humanity that: Jesus Christ is true God, and the Son of God came to earth as a human to atone for the sins of humanity; He erased all sins, impurities, and filth when people sinned and knew how to sincerely repent and return to God. Only the unique love that the Son of God was born into the world as a human has the power to dispel all sins and all suffering from the body and soul of mankind.

Today, God calls upon all mankind:

Believe in the testimony of Saint John as true testimony, because he believed and used his whole life to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth and became a human. Saint John's whole life also preached and testified about God coming to earth as a human, to erase all suffering and all sins for mankind.

Run to God, because only He can soothe the wounds of pain caused by the sins that mankind has committed for so long. God loves mankind, He always opens His arms to wait for everyone to return to His heart.

Thanks be to God. Amen.