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Gospel Reading for December 31, 2025 – John 1: 1-18
BRANDING
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him,and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth. John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.
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If God the Son did not become man, Christianity would not have come about. For those of us who are Christians, can we imagine what our life would have been without knowing and following Jesus? And, without Christianity, can we imagine how the world would be now? As it is, even with Christianity, the world is already in shambles. How much worse would it be without Christianity?
If God the Son did not become man, man would have never known the kind of Father God is. Deuteronomy 6: 15 says: “For the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.” Perhaps, this was the reason why the commandments given to Moses were interpreted so meticulously, making BRANDING of sinners very easy.
But with Jesus, the Father was the opposite of all these. As a matter of fact, the conversion of sinners was of prime importance to the Father. We have to always remember that God cannot be anything but LOVE because he is LOVE himself.
Let us reflect on this song written by Gregory Norbet, HOSEA –
Come back to me with all your heart;
Don’t let fear keep us apart.
Trees do bend though straight and tall,
so must we to others call.
Long have I waited for
your coming home to me
and living deeply our new life!
The wilderness will lead you
to the place where I will speak.
Integrity and justice
with tenderness,
you shall know.
Long have I waited for
your coming home to me
and living deeply our new life!
