2 January 2019 - crying out

Saints  Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen

Today's Readings

(Audio)

He said:
"I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
'Make straight the way of the Lord,'

Let us become voices like John the Baptist, crying out in the desert. Let our cry be that Jesus is the Christ. John could have conveniently taken advantage of the popularity of his movement. He could have been the absolute head for the sake of his own pride. We too have reasons why we might deny Christ. For instance, we hesitate because we want to shield ourselves from the risk of failure or alienation.

Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist. 
Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,
but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.

Jesus will give us the strength to hold fast to his truth. He will empower us to resist temptations to deny his name. He will give us the grace to acknowledge him even when it is difficult.

The calling is to remain in Christ. We have what we need to do this because we have the anointing that teaches us about everything. Our part is to honor and be faithful to the grace, the strength, and the anointing that we have from Jesus.

As for you,
the anointing that you received from him remains in you,
so that you do not need anyone to teach you. 

The real possibility of not speaking up for Jesus is that we eventually disconnect from him. We eventually deny him either implicitly or explicitly. We are equipped with the Spirit to protect us from this risk. He will nudge us when it is time to speak. He will give us the words to say. We just have to honor him by opening our mouths.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.