We receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us. (John)
By the time you read this, I’ll have taken down the Christmas tree and recycled the gift boxes, but the nativity scene will be up another day to allow the Wise Men a brief visit on the Epiphany. Meanwhile, today’s reading from John reminds us that the work of Christmas is just beginning.
John tells us that if we please Jesus by following his commandment to love one another, we will receive what we ask for. This is a little hard to believe when I look at what’s happening in my country (the United States) and worldwide.
Is he saying that people are being killed in Gaza, Ukraine, and elsewhere because they didn’t pray hard enough or correctly? Did they do something to deserve being born where they would be victims of atrocities? How about the hungry, the homeless, and victims of inhumane immigration raids in the U.S., or the millions of people throughout the world in refugee camps?
Does God love those of us born in safe and comfortable circumstances more than such people? The “prosperity Gospel” suggests that he does, but that seems like a perversion of a faith that warns of the difficulty of the rich entering heaven. So how do we live today’s reading?
First, God doesn’t do terrible things to people. Other people do. And those of us who count ourselves among the relatively comfortable minority of earth’s people can’t just congratulate ourselves for getting the prayer formula right. Instead, we need to understand that Jesus answers desperate prayers for help THROUGH US.
It can be tempting to despair about making an impact because of the sheer scope of horrors we see daily. We likely feel powerless. But if we take the command to love as a call to action, we’ll find ways to send out “ripples of hope” as Robert Kennedy told the people of South Africa during Apartheid.
Our ripples may be as small as calling on public officials to protect the human dignity of local immigrants or volunteering for groups like the parish St. Vincent de Paul Societies. However, if millions of us try to send out even a ripple of hope or two a week, we will create a mighty wave that mobilizes the power of love.
A great New Year’s resolution might be to find even one concrete ripple of hope that you can send out every week of 2026 – and hold yourself accountable for keeping this resolution until it becomes a habit, an integral part of your life. Happy New Year!
Eileen Wirth
I’m a retired Creighton journalism professor, active in St. John’s parish and a CLC member. In retirement, I write books about state and local history, including a history of the parish, and do volunteer PR consulting for groups like Habitat for Humanities, refugees etc. I love to read, work out, spend time with family and friends including those who can no longer get out much.
Writing reflections has deepened my faith by requiring me to engage deeply with Jesus through the Scriptures. In the many years I have been doing this, I’ve also formed friendships with regular readers nationally, most of whom I have never met. Hearing from readers and what I learn by writing make the hours I spend on each reflection well worth the effort.
