All the Ends of the Earth have Seen the Saving Power of God”

Today's Mass Readings

“All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God!” This is today’s psalm response, and it has been a constant refrain throughout the Christmas season. The LORD has done marvelous deeds and comes to rule the world with justice. If we look at today’s first reading from the 1st letter of John and the gospel passage from John through this lens of seeing the saving power of God, we can draw out an important theme: the saving power of God is witnessed not just in Jesus, but also in his followers. The first reading brings out this theme by discussing the difference between the children of the Devil and the children of God. In short, the children of the Devil sin whereas the children of God do not sin but are righteous. But, wait a second, we ask… don’t we all sin? And yes, of course we do. But the message of this passage is that people can be known by their works. Those who act in righteousness and love their brothers are plainly children of God. In making this assertion, John wants the Christian community to be aware of the importance of their actions. The saving power of God, known through Jesus, must also be known through them on account of the way they live their lives.

The gospel passage brings out this same theme by drawing our attention to the apostles, and, in particular, the most important of the Twelve, Simon Peter. It was through Peter, Andrew, and numerous other disciples (both men and women) that the saving power of God in the person of Jesus Christ was made known to so many people. We follow in the stead of the many disciples that have gone before us.

During this time of Christmas, let us seek to make known the saving power of God by the way that we live our lives. May all we do for God and for others indicate that we are plainly children of God and followers of Jesus.