Friday after Epiphany

Lectionary: 216


If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater. 
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son. 


The First Letter of Saint John echoes major themes of the Gospel of Saint John and was almost certainly written by the same author. The fifth chapter of the Letter summarizes both the Gospel and the Letter; we hear it during these final days of the Christmas Season.

Despite its loftiness the Gospel has been eminently reasonable. Reading it, we hear Jesus continually pointing to his own testimony and those signs which prove his testimony: the scriptures, the testimony of John the Baptist, the signs he has worked and the thunderous voice of God. 

The First Letter will also point to the signs and God's testimony: "the Spirit, the water and the blood." We cannot read these words without recalling Jesus' death and the final act of barbarity:

...when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may believe. (John 19: 33-35)

The gush of blood and water signifies first the total gift and total surrender of Jesus to death and love and his Father. He has nothing left to give. It is, like the agonized cry of Jesus heard in the Gospel of Saint Mark, a wrenching sign; it should stagger any one who witnesses the crucifixion, believers and non-believers alike. 

Secondly, the water and blood signify the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. We have been washed in the flood from Jesus heart; we have drank his blood; and we have breathed the Spirit he "handed over." They are evident in our fervent prayers, our generosity and our persistent courage. 

Can anyone ignore these signs and this testimony? As we move into the "ordinary time of year" we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. If the three signs we have seen in Jesus seem less inspiring in the mundane life of the Church, we have only to turn back to his cross. It is always there in our churches and homes. It leads us into the rosary and out again. The Blood, the Water and the Spirit abide in us.