Bearers of the Light of Christ
December 17, 2017 Sunday 3rd Sunday of Advent 1st Reading: Is 61:1-2a, 10-11 2nd Reading: 1 Thes 5:16-24 Gospel: Jn 1:6-8, 19-28
A man came, sent by God; his name was John. He came to bear witness, as a witness to introduce the Light so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but a witness to introduce the Light. This was the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” John recognized the truth and did not deny it. He said, “I am not the Messiah.”
And they asked him, “Then who are you? Elijah?” He answered, “I am not.” They said, “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Tell us who you are, so that we can give some answer to those who sent us. How do you see yourself?” And John said, quoting the prophet Isaiah, “I am the voice crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
A person with a mission can draw precious lessons from Sun- Tzu’s Art of War published more than 2,500 years ago. Part of the book reads: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Self-knowledge is as important to a missionary as it is to a warrior. The grounding resulting from honest evaluation of self provides stability to a missionary to withstand harsh social climate. Proud people do not have such stability because they do not have an honest evaluation of themselves. They are not well grounded. They are not stable.
John the Baptist was well grounded in his honest evaluation of himself. People were ready to take him for a Messiah. The narcissistic would have readily succumbed to the temptation of usurping undue glory. But John did not. Anchored firmly on honest evaluation of self he declared: “I am not the Messiah.” In standing by his identity John pulled himself many levels higher in the eyes of people. This amounted to raising the Messiah even higher when he announced that he was not worthy to untie the straps of His sandals.
Missionaries are in for a complicated battle in this modern world because of shifts in morals. But if these missionaries have an honest evaluation of themselves, their ineptness would humble them. They would then rely upon the power of God. Such humility siphons grace from God and they will obtain every strength that they need. Then they wouldn’t have to fear the result of a hundred battles. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected].
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