A reading from the first letter of saint John (3:7-10)
Children, do not let anyone lead you astray.
Whoever acts righteously is righteous,
just as he is righteous.
Whoever lives sinfully is from the devil,
since the devil has been a sinner from the beginning.
This was the purpose of the revealing of the Son of God,
to undo the work of the devil.
No one who is a child of God sins,
because God’s seed remains in him.
Nor can he sin, because he is a child of God.
This is what distinguishes
the children of God from the children of the devil:
no one who fails to live righteously
and fails to love brothers and sisters
is from God.
The one who acts ‘justly’, who ‘does ‘justice’ (dikaiosune), is just, as the Lord himself is just. Our translation uses the archaic term ‘righteous’. There is a strong contrast between the ‘children’ who ‘do justice’ (poiein dikaiosunen), and those who ‘live sinfully’ (poiein hamartian). These latter are ‘from the devil (diabolos)’, who ‘was a sinner from the beginning’. The allusion is to Genesis 3 and the power to deceive of the serpent. The Son has been ‘revealed’ (phaneroun) to bring release from the works of the devil. Those ‘born of God’ do not sin, act in justice, and love their brothers and sisters. The new theme of brotherly love is being prepared.
Psalm 98 (97) A ‘new song’ (shir hadash) is sung once again.
A reading from the holy gospel according to John (1:35-42)
The next day John was again standing there with two of his disciples, and looking at Jesus walking by he said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ And the two disciples heard him speaking and followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, and seeing them following said, ‘What are you looking for?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which translated means Teacher – ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see’; so they went and saw where he was staying, and stayed with him that day. It was mid-afternoon. One of these two who had heard John speak and had followed him was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which is translated Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon, son of John; you shall be called Cephas’ – which means Rock.
The following day John is with two of his disciples and once again points to Jesus with the words ‘Look, there is the lamb of God (ho amnos tou theou).’ The two immediately follow Jesus and a dialogue begins. Jesus’ question ‘What are you looking for?’ is followed by their addressing him as ‘rabbi’, which means teacher. They join Jesus ‘at about the tenth hour’ and remain with him. The named disciple, Andrew, whose companion may perhaps be John, is revered as the protokletos (‘first called’). He seeks out his brother Simon, and voices his conviction ‘we have found the Messiah’, and then takes Simon to Jesus. Despite the initiative of Andrew, and his statement of faith, the focus shifts to Simon. His being given by Jesus the Aramaic title ‘Cephas’, which is rendered by the evangelist with the Greek Petros (‘Rock’), speaks of his prominence among the disciples of Jesus.
What convinces Andrew he has found the Messiah?
Jesus chooses Peter rather than Andrew.