My dear friends,
People of God: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.
In his first letter Peter reminds all Christians, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8). My friends this joy challenges us to adopt Christ-like attitudes: being like-minded, having the same love, and being one in spirit and purpose. As we strive daily to live a resurrected life in Christ we must do so by expressing our desire to experience the resurrection power of Jesus in our present lives.
Similarly in today’s Epistle,1 John 1:1-2:2, the author also shares his passion of fellowship with Christ and invites us to a life of intimate sharing of ourselves with God and with each other.
The aged author looks back on the days when he himself saw and touched and heard this divine expression (John 1:14-18). He stresses the fact that his experience with Jesus has had a continuing impact in his life. He is over 80 as he writes, yet even now he continues to have fellowship with God the Father and his Son Jesus. My friends it is this continuing fellowship John wants us to share. He knows that fellowship with God is our only hope to know real joy.
Therefore true joy can only be found through a relationship with the Lord. In Christ we can put godly living into practice, and have the assurance that the God whose presence means inner peace will be with us. This is a wonderful perspective to maintain on life, which is a source of constant joy. My brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue our earthly pilgrimage we have the reassurance of God’s presence. It is important to note that when Jesus was on earth he prayed for his disciples (John 17:6-19). He asks that they might be kept safe and receive “the full measure of my joy within them” (13). Today we thank God that we too have been prayed for by Jesus. The author of today’s Epistle wrote about his fellowship with God and continues to challenge us to let his words guide us into that fellowship and thus into joy.
The grace of our lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you always.
Fr. Raliville Christian.
——————————————————————————–