The First Letter of John was written about 100 A.D., and was one of the last New Testament books to be composed. This letter was written in the tradition of the apostle John (and thus bears his name).
If human beings had not sinned, would we still have Christmas and the birth of Jesus? Was Jesus' becoming human only a "rescue" mission ... or was God going to become human whether we sinned or not? The truth is, we're no sure. Down through the centuries, the Church has never closed debate on that question.
That kind of debate may be interesting, but as today's reading makes clear: We have all sinned.
Everyone of us.
And we have an Advocate with the Father who will cleanse us. Everyone of us.
Something to think about.
- Little Blue Book, Diocese of Saginaw