9 January 2026 - can I get three witnesses?

Today's Readings
(Audio) 

This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood. 

Jesus began his mission when he was baptized in water by John, the Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the Father spoke, identifying him as his beloved son with whom he was well pleased. In his baptism Jesus sanctified the waters of baptism so that they could be unsealed again and again by future generations, making possible rebirth to a new life in the Spirit for those with faith. The divinity and sanctifying power of Jesus were, however, only a part of the story. The water of baptism was in fact inseparable from the blood of his cross. Baptism itself was a kind of symbolic death, and the emerging from the waters a kind of resurrection. It was powerful precisely because of the historical death and resurrection of Jesus. It was effective because he did not disdain to shed his blood for the world. The cross, on the other hand, was not comprehensible by itself, as though it were an accidental or unfortunate act of violent bloodshed. It made sense only seen as a sacrifice of self-oblation offered by Jesus in order that there could be mercy for all of the sins of the world. It made sense only connected to the water that would take its potency from the the blood, but in particular because of who it was that shed his blood, and the intention and freedom with which he did so. His death led to the outpouring of both blood and water from the cross. We know that the water represented the living water of the Holy Spirit. This came from the cross to signify the source from which baptism received its power. 

The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth. 
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, 
and the three are of one accord. 

The Spirit came down on Jesus in his baptism, and was unleashed by him from the cross. We can see in all of this the importance of the fact that Jesus had to be fully human to accomplish his work. He was able to plug humanity back into to the grace of God because he himself was human. He obeyed where Adam disobeyed and by his cross undid the consequences of the fall. Where Adam chose to put himself first Jesus freely offered himself. Adam did not speak up for his bride. But Christ died for his bride, the Church. The idea of water without blood, perhaps a teacher Christ or a mythological figure, and a baptism that was merely symbolic, was insufficient and ultimately empty. Without the blood shed on the cross no redemption was possible. But we remember too that not just anyone's shed blood would suffice, only the one who gave the Spirit without measure.

Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.

Belief in Jesus is a different sort of belief than belief in the testimony of merely human witnesses since it is the "greater" testimony of God himself. In other beliefs there is always some small chance of deception. But the testimony to Jesus is something that we receive within us, that actually transforms us from within. It is not just that we share this testimony with others once we have received it. It is rather, or should be, that our lives become a living testimony to him. We will not be held harmless if we refuse to believe the testimony with which God himself tries to persuade us. He is goodness and truth itself. Therefore any motives for disbelief are rooted in our unwillingness allow his light to shine on our darkness. And even we who do believe probably still keep some secret parts of ourselves cordoned off from this light, still keep some parts of our hearts under our own lordship rather than his. 

Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

If we do not feel victorious, and even feel at risk of collapse and failure, it may be because we haven't fully internalized the testimony of the witnesses God provides, especially the water, the blood, and the Spirit. We might be ashamed to let God see our brokenness. But he already sees it. So let's invite him in. Let's use the grace of our baptism, and regularly reception of his body and blood in the Eucharist, and the Spirit he never ceases to pour out, to allow him to convince us more of his love, that he is for us and not against us. Let us do so until we don't just believe but believe with all of our hearts, so that even here and now we can begin to experience the life that lasts forever.

And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. 

Lindell Cooley - Let The River Flow