I must decrease
Published Jan 8, 2022 12:12 am
REFLECTIONS TODAY
“Adulting” is a term that recently millennials have used to describe their current predicament. They slowly discover how many tasks adults have to accomplish in order to survive life. They discover that they really are adults now, because they find themselves having to take on so many responsibilities. Most of all, they discover how much sacrifice must be made to fulfill an adult’s duty, and in the process lose one’s self.
For a Christian, taking on responsibilities for oneself, for neighbor, and for God is an act of following the Divine Master. The Christian ideal is losing one’s self and putting on the identity of Christ—Christ the Suffering Servant, the Victim, the Lover. John the Baptist’s statement is not merely an act of humility. It is also a proclamation of readiness and willingness to take on responsibility and to dedicate one’s self to service all the more. We eventually find ourselves being drawn to positions or situations of greater responsibility, and being so, we become more Christlike.
Gospel • Jn 3:22-30
Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, for John had not yet been imprisoned. Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial washings. So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”
SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
“Adulting” is a term that recently millennials have used to describe their current predicament. They slowly discover how many tasks adults have to accomplish in order to survive life. They discover that they really are adults now, because they find themselves having to take on so many responsibilities. Most of all, they discover how much sacrifice must be made to fulfill an adult’s duty, and in the process lose one’s self.
For a Christian, taking on responsibilities for oneself, for neighbor, and for God is an act of following the Divine Master. The Christian ideal is losing one’s self and putting on the identity of Christ—Christ the Suffering Servant, the Victim, the Lover. John the Baptist’s statement is not merely an act of humility. It is also a proclamation of readiness and willingness to take on responsibility and to dedicate one’s self to service all the more. We eventually find ourselves being drawn to positions or situations of greater responsibility, and being so, we become more Christlike.
Gospel • Jn 3:22-30
Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, for John had not yet been imprisoned. Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial washings. So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”
SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.