"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)

Jn 1:35-42

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah,” which is translated Christ.Then he brought him to Jesus.Jesus looked at him and said,“You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas,” which is translated Peter. 

Saint John writes that the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil, that is, to thwart his action in human life. The greatest work of the devil in our lives is to convince us that evil is good, that death is life, lies are truth, and sin is the greatest good and happiness of man. From the very beginning, that is, from the creation of the world, the devil has been trying to deceive man, convincing him that God is actually the enemy of our lives, that he wants evil for us, and forbids us everything, especially what is pleasant. This first deception became the basis for the destruction of the most beautiful relationship between us and God. This word “destruction” may be too strong, but it will certainly undermine this relationship. The evil one constantly works on us with our condemnation, primarily using a false image of God. Therefore, after the original sin, God announced to people that he would send them a Savior, who became Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son. Coming into this world, Jesus not only came to save us, which is of course the most important thing, but also came to show us the true image of the Father and His intentions towards us, which are intentions of peace, goodness and love. When we see Jesus, we see God who does not want to deceive us, enslave us, destroy us, punish us, but to save us, love us, forgive us, and lift us up from our sins. Therefore, we do not have to fear God, but we must trust Him even more than all the whispers of the devil who deceives us with his lies. Every time we commit a sin, we stop believing in God who loves us, and we turn to evil that feeds us with lies. Because in fact, our actions show who our life belongs to, they define us. If we do good, avoiding sin, then, as Saint John says, we remain in God and become His children. If we commit sin and persist in it, we become children of the devil, no matter how we try to explain or justify our sins. There is no other option here. Jesus also talks about it in today's Gospel in the words: Come, and you will see. Go and see what life with God is like, and then compare it with living in sin, with remaining in sin. Jesus does not tell his disciples about life with Him, He invites them to live with Him. Because apart from God there is only sin and death, which a person can experience by choosing evil, listening to Satan's whisper. Jesus invites us to live with Him. Let us see in this Gospel that Jesus does not say where he lives, he does not give an address, because He has no address, because He lives in us, in our hearts, He wants to live and dwell in our hearts, which can become His home, provided that we'll let him do it. If we do not follow Him, we will condemn ourselves to a life of sin, which is only slavery and death.

Father Marcin Cwierz, OSPPE

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"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)