SATURDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY - Gospel (Jn 3:22–30) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“He must increase, I must decrease.” (Jn 3:30)

FIRST READING - 1 John 5:14-21

A reading from the First Letter of John

Beloved:

We have this confidence in him

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,

we know that what we have asked him for is ours.

If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,

he should pray to God and he will give him life.

This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.

There is such a thing as deadly sin,

about which I do not say that you should pray.

All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin;

but the one begotten by God he protects,

and the Evil One cannot touch him.

We know that we belong to God,

and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.

We also know that the Son of God has come

and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.

And we are in the one who is true,

in his Son Jesus Christ.

He is the true God and eternal life.

Children, be on your guard against idols.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - John 3:22-30

From the Gospel according to John

Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea,

where he spent some time with them baptizing.

John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,

because there was an abundance of water there,

and people came to be baptized,

for John had not yet been imprisoned.

Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew

about ceremonial washings.

So they came to John and said to him,

“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,

to whom you testified,

here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”

John answered and said,

“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.

You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,

but that I was sent before him.

The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;

the best man, who stands and listens for him,

rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.

So this joy of mine has been made complete.

He must increase; I must decrease.”

SATURDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY - Gospel (Jn 3:22–30)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In today's Word of God, God calls on all humanity to do everything in God because He is the center and the goal of human life.

Without God, humans cannot do anything.

And believe absolutely that God is the master of all things, both in heaven as well as on earth. There is nothing that can bypass Him. Every human thought, word, action, and deed is known to him.

At present, God calls on everyone to live a life of meekness, humility, self-abasement, loving, reverent, and obeying God, and turning to God in all things, then Satan will retreat and we will be able to abandon the evil acts brought by Satan.

Do not be jealous, do not be competitive, do not quarrel, do not be self-centered, do not be proud, arrogant, or conceited anymore.

Work under the mighty hands of God to have a heart that knows how to love and a heart that fears and obeys God's Will. Do not compete with each other or be jealous of one another.

Because actions that lack love will not please God. Rather than pride, arrogance, and complacency about one's actions and successes in this world, God values love, forgiveness, compassion, sympathy, mercy and forgiveness, obedience, and fear of His will.

God loves the little ones, the simple, the lowly, and those who know how to obey His will. And He is not pleased with those who are proud, arrogant, conceited, egotistical, and those without mercy, compassion, and forgiveness.

God calls all His children through today's Word of God to be on guard against the temptations of Satan that are creeping into our daily lives.

These temptations are competition, jealousy, superiority, arrogance, complacency, and ego. Because those things do not come from God.

On the contrary, humility, forgiveness, fear of God, obedience to God's will at all times and in all places, doing everything according to God's will and turning to Him come from God, from the working of the Holy Spirit.

However, pride, arrogance, passion desire for worldly power, competition, jealousy, and superiority all come from Satan.

God wants all His children to be wise, alert, and able to distinguish between the Spirit that comes from God and the evil spirit that comes from Satan in our lives and actions.

Today's Word of God, God's calling on all of us to look at the image of Saint John the Baptist and follow his example of purity, clarity, humility, self-abasement, simplicity, obedience, and fear of God that we may put into practice in our daily lives.

Thanks be to God. Amen.