Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard from the Scriptures, about the coming of the Lord into this world, and how He has been acclaimed and acknowledged through the three testimonies, of water, Blood and the Spirit. And from the Scriptures itself, we can find these testimonies, the testimonies of faith for our belief in Him, through Whom God willed to save us from the eternal damnation.

First of all, the testimony of water was witnessed by St. John the Baptist who baptised our Lord Jesus in the Jordan. The moment that he baptised Him, as He was plunged into the waters of the river, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit descended from it to rest upon Jesus, and the voice of the Father declaring that Jesus is the holy Son of God, the One Whom He had sent into the world, and through Whom He had sent His salvation.

And the testimony of the Blood came through the Passion of our Lord, Who have suffered for us and for our sake, bearing the burden of the cross, when His Blood was shed for the salvation of the whole world and all mankind. The Lord gave His own Precious Body and Blood, so that all of us who share in them and receive them worthily will have life in us, and we will not perish but live forever with Him. It was only the Blood of the Lamb of God that is worthy enough to redeem us all from the entirety of our sins.

Lastly, the testimony of the Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit that first came on Jesus at His Baptism, declaring together with the Father, the true nature of the Saviour of the world, and Who was later promised by the Lord to His disciples and followers, that all who believed in Him would receive the Holy Spirit that He promised. And indeed, the Holy Spirit later came on them, and He spoke the same thing that Jesus Himself had taught them.

All the three testimonies of water, Blood and Spirit agreed together that Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Saviour of all, and through Him salvation would come upon all who have shared in His baptism, when we all receive the Sacrament by the pouring or immersion in the holy water of baptism, and then receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord Himself in the Eucharist, and finally the gift of the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation.

All these are the three important Sacraments of Initiation that all Christians ought to undergo to complete their journey of faith, symbolising a complete union with the Lord through the Church. And therefore, through the holy water of baptism, by receiving the Most Precious Eucharist and being anointed with the holy oil of chrism at Confirmation, we have received the fullness of our faith as passed down to us from the Apostles of our Lord.

And now that we have received the fullness of this faith, then what are we do with it, brethren? It is now then that we should pass on this faith for others around us who have not yet heard or believed in the Lord. This was how the faith was passed on from the Apostles to the people, through whom then, down the centuries and through many interactions, that they passed down the faith all the way to us.

The Lord has tasked us all with the responsibility and duty to carry out His Good News to all the peoples, that is to continue the good works which had been done for the many years past, so that even more people would come to know of the love of God and receive therefore the salvation from Him by their faith and devotion to the way which He had shown them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this means that each and every one of us ought to do something with our lives, practicing our faith with devotion and with real action, so that all of us may convince many more people who see us, and witness in us the good works and the love of our God, and therefore, they will also be convinced and be called to walk the same path as we have walked, on our way together towards God’s grace and salvation.

May the Lord bless us all, and may He strengthen in our hearts the commitment and zeal we have for Him, so that in all things, we will always bring glory to Him and help one another to seek our way to reach out to Him. May the Lord be with us all, now and forever. Amen.