OXYGEN

30 Dec – Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

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1 John 2:12-17

I am writing to you, my own children,
whose sins have already been forgiven through his name;
I am writing to you, fathers,
who have come to know the one
who has existed since the beginning;
I am writing to you, young men,
who have already overcome the Evil One;
I have written to you, children,
because you already know the Father;
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know the one
who has existed since the beginning;
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong and God’s word has made its home in you,
and you have overcome the Evil One.
You must not love this passing world
or anything that is in the world.
The love of the Father cannot be
in any man who loves the world,
because nothing the world has to offer
– the sensual body,
the lustful eye,
pride in possessions –
could ever come from the Father
but only from the world;
and the world, with all it craves for,
is coming to an end;
but anyone who does the will of God
remains for ever.

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Luke 2:36-40

There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.

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The love of the Father cannot be in any man who loves the world

Even though God said it is not possible to love both God and the world at the same time, it is very hard for me to surrender my love for the world. In fact, many times I think to myself that I should be able to find a balance between my love for this world and for God. Of course, I am deceiving myself. Yet, how is it possible to not love the world at all? Didn’t God create this world? Why can’t I love God’s creation?

Yes, God created this world and perhaps, my questions are justified. Nonetheless, if I fall in love with God’s creation more than the Creator Himself, that means that something is lacking in my faith. For without God, this world would not exist. Hence, we need to look to the source of life – God – and honour Him more than any of His creation.

In our daily lives, this would mean that we must evaluate our love for what we are doing/having more than our love for God. For example, we could ask, “Do I love God more than my grades?”, “Do I love God more than material comfort?”, “Do I love God more than food?”, “Do I love God more than my husband/wife?”, and “Do I love God more than my child?”

While these questions are challenging, they must be asked and evaluated in truth so that we can know where we’re at in our spiritual journey. From here, we can then humbly ask God for His grace to recognize that we must first love the source of everything good in our life. That is, we must first love God. Only then, will our lives begin to have spiritual meaning and our journey as disciples will grow in depth and sincerity.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Jean Cheng)
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Prayer: Lord, help me to love you more than ________  (insert what it is you know you love very much).

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to Father Abraham for demonstrating that it is possible to love God more than what was dearest to Him (his son), when he obediently did God’s will.

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Upcoming Readings:
Wed, 31 Dec – 1 John 2:18-21; John 1:1-18; Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas
Thu, 01 Jan – Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67:2-3. 5-6. 8; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21; Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Fri, 02 Jan – 1 John 2:22-28; John 1:19-28; Weekday before Epiphany; Sts Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops, doctors
Sat, 03 Jan – 1 John 2:29-3:6; John 1:29-34; Weekday before Epiphany; Holy Name of Jesus
Sun, 04 Jan – Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72, Ephesians 3:2-3a. 5-6, Matthew 2:1-12, Epiphany of the the Lord