Saturday after Epiphany — “Today This Scripture Is Fulfilled”

The days after Epiphany show us what revelation really does.

At Epiphany, Christ is shown to the world.
After Epiphany, the world must decide what to do with Him.

Today’s readings bring us to that moment.

St John begins with a sentence that quietly puts everything in order:

“We love because God loved us first.”

That order matters.

Christian life does not begin with effort, improvement, or moral success.
It begins with being loved.

Before we choose God,
God has already chosen us.

Before we love,
we are loved.

That truth protects us from two mistakes.

The first is thinking we must earn God’s love.
The second is thinking love costs nothing.

John holds both together.

God’s love is freely given —
and it changes how we live.

If we receive God’s love seriously,
it must shape our relationships,
our patience,
our forgiveness.

Not perfectly —
but genuinely.

John then says something striking: “This is the victory that conquers the world — our faith.”

He does not say power conquers the world.
He does not say success conquers the world.

He says faith.

Faith does not remove us from the world.
It allows us to live in it without being ruled by it.

Faith frees us from fear,
from bitterness,
from the need to control.

That matters as Epiphany unfolds,
because revelation always brings decision.

The Gospel takes us to Nazareth.

Jesus returns home “in the power of the Spirit.”

He goes into the synagogue,
as He always does.

Everything looks ordinary.

Until He stands to read.

Jesus reads from Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me…”

The people know this passage.
They have heard it before.

But then Jesus does something no one expects.

He sits down and says: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

This is the moment Epiphany becomes personal.

The light is no longer a star in the sky.
It stands in front of them.

Jesus is not commenting on Scripture.
He is claiming it.

God’s promise is not distant.
It is present.

Not someday.
Not elsewhere.

Today.

At first, the people are impressed.

But admiration is not faith.

Jesus is not offering encouragement.
He is offering fulfilment.

And fulfilment demands response.

He is saying:

God’s promises are not abstract.
They are happening now.
And they are happening through Me.

That challenges expectation, control, and familiarity.

Which is why this moment will soon turn into rejection.

This is where St John helps us again.

Faith that “conquers the world”
does not conquer by force.

It conquers by trust.

Trust that God’s love is real.
Trust that Christ speaks with authority.
Trust that obedience leads to freedom.

Epiphany does not end when Christ is revealed.

It ends when He is believed.

Today the Church places us in the synagogue at Nazareth.

We have heard the words.
We know who is speaking.

And Christ still says:

“Today this Scripture is fulfilled.”

Not yesterday.
Not someday.

Today.

May we receive Him in faith,
allow His love to shape our lives,
and discover that faith in Him
still has the power
to overcome the world.