Homily – 31 December “Remaining in the Truth”

On the last day of the year,
the Church does not give us nostalgia.
She gives us truth.

As one year ends and another begins,
today’s readings ask a simple but searching question:

What have we built our lives on?

St John speaks plainly: “It is the last hour.”

He does not mean the end of the world tomorrow.
He means something deeper.

Since Christ has come,
every moment is an hour of decision.

Truth has been revealed.
Light has entered the world.

We no longer live in confusion,
but in responsibility.

John warns against voices that deny Christ —
not always loudly,
but subtly,
by emptying Him of meaning.

To remain in Christ
is to remain in the truth about who He is.

The Gospel lifts our eyes higher.

Before years,
before calendars,
before time itself — “In the beginning was the Word.”

As one year closes,
the Church reminds us that Christ does not age.

He is not confined to last year or next year.
He stands outside time
and yet enters it for our sake.

The Word becomes flesh,
not to observe humanity from a distance,
but to dwell among us and save us.

John tells us something decisive:

“The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”

This is not optimism.
It is victory.

Darkness is real —
in the world,
in history,
and in our own hearts.

But it is not ultimate.

As the year ends,
we may carry regrets, failures, unfinished plans.

The Gospel does not deny them.
It places them in the light of Christ.

St John uses one word again and again:
remain.

Remain in the Son.
Remain in the truth.
Remain in what you have received.

Faith is not novelty.
It is fidelity.

As we cross into a new year,
the greatest danger is not struggle,
but drift.

Christmas tells us:
God has come close.

The question is whether we will remain close to Him.

On this final day of the year,
the Church teaches us how to stand still.

Not clinging to what has passed.
Not anxious about what is coming.

But rooted in Christ,
the Word made flesh.

If we remain in Him,
the year ahead cannot finally harm us.

For the light has come into the world,
and it does not fade with the calendar.