2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time-Cycle A–2017
FIRST READING Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
The LORD said to me: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory. Now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
GOSPEL John 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
My sisters and brothers in the Lord,
Jesus is our Lord! John the Baptist gives this testimony but it also reflects the testimony of the whole of Jewish Scripture, which we call our Old Testament. Jesus is God with us, Emmanuel. Jesus comes to take the burden of our sins on Himself and becomes the Paschal Lamb. All of this simply reflects the fact that God loves us and give Himself to us and for us. And we can respond: Thanks be to God.
Our first reading today comes from the Prophet Isaiah. We could think of this reading as the Lord calling for a people to serve Him. We are used to vocations as individuals. Some of us are called to be married, some single, some consecrated religious, some parish priests, some are called to work for social justice, some are called to seek out and serve the poor, and so on. In our history, however, God has called the Jewish people to play a very special and particular role in the salvation of all of us humans. The Prophet Isaiah sees that God has called the Jewish people to be messengers of salvation for all of humanity. It is through the Jewish people that light has come into the world.
The second reading is from the First Letter to the Corinthians and is about the call of Saint Paul. Here Paul tells us that he has been called to be an apostle. He also tells us that the people of Corinth are called to be holy. This holiness is about serving god just as the call of the Jewish people is to serve the Lord God.
The Gospel of Saint John speaks to us today about John the Baptist once more, but in a special way. John the Baptist is called to point to the Lord, the Messiah. Today John the Baptist is so clear: Jesus is the One that I have been proclaiming. Listen to Him.
Just as Jesus is called to fulfill the will of the Father, so also we are called to live in our personal lives the call that God has put within us. Holiness is not about doing things but about responding to God because God has called us. Jesus is also called, even as He is the one who calls. Jesus always leads us to our Father.
What we must always remember is that the path which we are called to walk is always a path of suffering. We must die to ourselves in order to live more in God and in Christ Jesus. Most of are not happy about suffering and so we often do not embrace the Lord. May this New Year help us all embrace the Lord fully and walk with Him on the way to salvation.
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip