A reading from the first letter of saint John (4:11-18)
My dear friends,
if God loved us so much,
we too should love one other.
No one has ever seen God,
if we love one other
God abides in us
and his love comes to perfection in us.
By this we know that we abide in him
and he in us,
because he has given us a share in his Spirit.
We ourselves have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son
as Saviour of the world.
Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God abides in him and he in God.
And we have come to know
and believe the love God has for us.
God is love,
and whoever abides in love abides in God
and God in him.
Love has come to its perfection in us
so that we may face the Day of Judgement fearlessly,
because as he is,
so are we in this world.
In love there is no fear,
but perfect love drives out fear,
because fear has to do with punishment,
and one who fears has not come to perfection in love.
We have never seen God, but God dwells in us if we love each other. Furthermore, God has given us ‘a share in his Spirit (ek tou pneumatos)’, which allows us to witness that the Father sent the Son as ‘Saviour (soter)’. We are fully convinced of the love God has for us. Once again the writer affirms that ‘God is love (ho theos agape estin)’ (4:8 and 4:16). We ‘abide’ (menein) in God, and God in us. God’s love allows us to have confidence (parresia) in the face of God’s judgement, for love casts out fear.
Psalm 72 (71) The Messiah saves the poor and the needy.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Mark (6:45-52)
And at once he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side near Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away. After parting from them he went off to the mountain to pray. When evening came, the boat was far out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. Seeing that they were hard pressed in their rowing, for the wind was against them, not long before dawn he came towards them, walking on the sea. He was going to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a phantom and cried out; for they had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke to them and said, ‘Courage! It’s me! Don’t be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them and the wind dropped. They were utterly and completely dumbfounded, because they had not understood about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
This gospel passage follows directly from the account of the multiplication of the loaves read yesterday. Jesus is the one who feeds the multitude. Jesus is the one who has power over the sea. The evangelist is suggesting that Jesus has powers greater than Moses, to feed the minds and bodies of the people, and to protect them from harm. The disciples were ‘completely and utterly dumbfounded’, and yet their hearts remained ‘hardened’.
What relevance does this gospel passage have to the Christmas feasts?
The graces of Christmas can be met with hardness of heart and slowness of faith.