[stephenkhoo]

08 January 2014, Wednesday after the Epiphany
KNOWING THE INCARNATED CHRIST AS THE WAY TO OVERCOME THE STORMS OF LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 Jn 4:11-18; PS 71: 1-2, 10-13, Mk 6:45-52



During this season of Christmas, the Church invites us to contemplate more deeply the meaning of the incarnation. Epiphany is the manifestation of God in Jesus Christ. It is the revelation of Jesus as the Saviour of the world. This is especially so when we are struck by storms in our lives. Only faith in Jesus as the Son of God and its implications can see us through in life.

Like the disciples in the gospel today, many of us still do not recognize Jesus truly as the incarnation of God. We are told that their minds were dull. So dull that they mistook Him for a political Messiah. Indeed, it is also true for us. Many of us do not fully grasp our confession of Jesus as the Son of God.

What is it that is preventing us from recognizing Jesus as the revelation of God? St John tells us it is fear. Fear causes us to be anxious and to worry. Fear causes delusion. It makes us imagine things. Fear is the result of the lack of faith and trust in God. Fear prevents us from coming to God because of a false sense of unworthiness.

John tells us that perfect love casts our fear. With love, we come to know God. Not only does love enable us to know God, but love also enables us to see God in others. More specifically, love opens our eyes to the reality of the incarnation in its fullest dimension when we see Christ in every man. It is also possible for someone who has not yet encountered God to come to see God through the love of his fellowmen since in His incarnation, Christ is present in every man.

Today, the liturgy invites us to increase our faith and trust in Jesus. Like the disciples, we must surrender our lives to Him. Faith and love for Christ is the way to overcome fear in our lives. When we give ourselves to Jesus, we would hear His words, “Courage. It is I! Do not be afraid.”

But how do we cultivate our faith and love for Christ? We need to cultivate an intimacy with Him. Like Jesus in the gospel, He prayed before meeting the disciples in order to know and clarify His identity and His relationship with the Father. This was necessary as the people might have confused Him as to what the Father really wanted of Him when they tried to make Him king. So we too must have an intimacy with the Lord, to come to know who He is in order to know who we are. When we are able to recognise Him as the Son of God, the love of God in person; that He loves us and that we are the reason for His incarnation, then we can come to appreciate too that we are children of the Father, loved by Him. Once we accept this, then we can live in security, peace and happiness. We can then become epiphanies of the Lord in our lives. In our humanity, we too can reveal God in us. When we are loved by God and assured of His presence, we no longer fear judgment nor the storms in our lives. We are able to walk in confidence with love for our neighbours. As John says, even though we have never seen God, yet by loving one another, God lives in us and His love will be complete in us because we share in His Spirit.