4 January 2027 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.” 1 John 5:4
As Denha draws near, the Church asks who the Child is. Jesus answers in the Gospel: “the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” This is not weakness but perfect unity. The Son gives life as the Father gives life, and judges as the Father has entrusted to him, “so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” The Child of Bethlehem is worthy of the same worship as the Father.
St John draws out what this means for believers: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” Faith is a new birth. And this new birth is strong: “whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.” The world with its fears, temptations and pressures does not have the last word over a child of God.
Theme: “This is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.”
The Son one with the Father; believers born of God.
“Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?” Deuteronomy 32:6
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.” 1 John 5:1
Apply: Thank God today for your Baptism.
“then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,” Proverbs 8:30
“Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” John 5:19
Apply: Pray the Glory Be with full attention each time today.
“With the LORD on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?” Psalm 118:6
“for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.” 1 John 5:4
Apply: Make an act of faith whenever fear rises.
The Child is the eternal Son, worthy of all honour.
Born of God, we share his victory.
Take-home resolution: Prepare for Denha by renewing your baptismal promises.
Dear friends, as Denha draws near the Church asks: who is this Child? Jesus answers in the Gospel: the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise (John 5:19).
This is the language of perfect unity. Jesus gives life as the Father gives life. He is entrusted with judgement. And all must honour the Son just as they honour the Father (John 5:23). The Child in the manger is worthy of the same worship as the Father.
St John tells us what this means for us. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God (1 John 5:1). Faith is not only an opinion; it is a new birth.
And this new birth is powerful: whatever is born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that conquers the world, our faith (1 John 5:4). Fears, temptations and the pressures of the world do not have the last word over a child of God.
As Denha approaches, let us renew our faith in Jesus, the Son of the Father, and live this week as children who have already won. Amen.
Children, Jesus always does what his Father does, because they love each other. Watch the good things your parents do, and do the same!
Lord Jesus, eternal Son of the Father, you do the works of the Father and give life to whom you will. I believe that you are the Christ; let this faith be my victory over every fear and temptation. Glory to you with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Two days before Denha, both readings speak of a Father and a Son. John’s letter says that to believe in Jesus is to be born of God, and that this faith conquers the world. In the Gospel, Jesus says that he does what he sees the Father doing. The feast will show the Son in the water and the Father’s voice from above; these readings prepare us to hear what that means.
Setting.
The First Letter of John addresses a community that has been through a painful split (2:19), over what it means to confess that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh. Against those who left, the writer offers plain tests of true faith: right belief, love of the brethren and obedience. In these verses, the three are woven together.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“And his commandments are not burdensome,” (5:3)
He does not say that they are easy. A command is heavy until one loves the one who gives it, and grace gives the strength.
“And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.” (5:4)
“The world” in this letter means human life organised apart from God (2:15–17), not creation itself. The victory is already won in Christ, and the believer shares it.
“Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (5:5)
The reading ends on the title which the voice from heaven will give to Jesus at the Jordan.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism says that to become children of God we must be “born from above” or “born of God” (CCC 526). St Augustine, in his sermons on this letter, returns again and again to the point that faith and charity cannot be separated (in substance). For the Church, this new birth happens in Baptism, the sacrament that Denha brings to mind.
Setting.
Jesus has healed a sick man at the pool on a sabbath (5:1–18). When challenged, he says, “My Father is still working, and I also am working” (5:17). Jewish thinkers of the time, such as Philo, also said that God does not stop working on the sabbath. The conflict comes from Jesus’ claim to share that work. When John says “the Jews” in this chapter, he means the religious authorities who opposed him, not the Jewish people as a whole (CCC 597–598). Vv. 19–23 are Jesus’ answer.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” (5:19)
Many commentators hear a picture from daily life, of a son learning his father’s trade at his side. It does not make the Son lesser: “whatever the Father does” is everything. He and the Father work as one.
“just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes.” (5:21)
Only God gives life to the dead. In the verses that follow, Jesus gives life by his word.
“so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” (5:23)
This is a very high claim. To honour the Father one must honour the Son.
How the Church reads it.
The Church teaches that the works of the Trinity are one: the Three Persons are as inseparable in what they do as in what they are (CCC 258). The Catechism says that full right to judge belongs to Christ as redeemer of the world, and it cites this passage (CCC 679). St Augustine, preaching on this Gospel, explains that the Son’s “seeing” is not a pupil’s learning; he has from the Father all that he is (in substance).
If “the Son can do nothing on his own”, is he less than the Father?
No. These words speak of perfect unity, not of weakness. The Son has everything from the Father, and he does everything with the Father. The same passage demands equal honour for both (5:23). The Church confesses him as “one in being with the Father” (CCC 242, 262).