30 December 2017
Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
In the first reading, things are familiar, and yet different. There are children, there are fathers, there are young men, there are families. All plenty of things that we can recognize. And yet they are doing new things—having their sins forgiven, conquering the evil one, even knowing God the Father. The love of family and home is still present, the bonds of community are visible, but now that love has exceeded all expectations. We think of family as a place of support as we go through life’s trials—but John tells us that family does not just brace against evil, it conquers evil.
Something so familiar doing something so unexpected. This contrast is good to keep in mind as we hear John say today that we should “not love the world or the things of this world” (1 Jn. 2:15). In this case, John does not mean by “the world” everything we experience but simply everything that draws us from God. This week, God became part of a human family. God has come to be with us, to save us not by obliterating our human existence, but by lifting it up. This is a time of year when we are particularly aware of the warm bonds that exist between us in community, and the good that is around us. Through this warmth and this goodness, God will conquer the night.