Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 49:3, 5–6
Psalm 40:2, 4, 7–8, 8–9, 10
1 Corinthians 1:1–3
John 1:29–34
Many things that we cannot understand as we experience them become clear only after extended thought. Life can sort out what is essential. When we allow the “wisdom of age” to influence how we see the world, there are two results:
First, if we have a sense of humor, we can laugh at ourselves. We can see that we are no longer bound by the frustrations of the past because we have learned that they did pass, and we might wonder why they upset us.
Second, the size of our world changes dramatically. We see that our world has been very small and that “the real world” – God’s world – is incredibly large.
God says to His servant: “You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory.” And He continues: “It is too little … for you to be my servant, … I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
What God’s people experience is never just for them. What God’s servants do for God is intended for a broader purpose. God allows His followers to see only a small portion of what He intends for them. When the people have become truly responsive to God’s will, they are invited to learn more of the mind and heart of God.
As we enter into Ordinary Time, we meet John the Baptist pointing out Jesus as the Lamb of God, the One on Whom God’s Spirit rests. John admits that he did not recognize Jesus for Who He is until he put together his own call and what God suggested he would see.
It is the Spirit of Jesus at work in Him and in those who are called to follow Him Who accomplish the purpose God intends. Prophecy can open to us some understanding of the shape of our salvation. But only a response like that of John’s – acceptance of the surprise element – can bring about the full testimony we are to give.
Paul sends his greetings to the Christian community at Corinth, reminding them that the call to holiness is universal, as he addresses himself to those “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.” For Paul and for Isaiah, the world is destined to hear the news of salvation through what the God of Israel accomplishes among His servants.
We ourselves stand in the very world that is called to salvation and holiness. Human beings are not meant to be divided and sorted by the limits that we put on one another. We must recognize those who are related to us by sharing the call and those destined to be one with us in the gift of salvation through what God accomplishes among us.
The responsorial psalm offers us the words that allow us to consent to God’s action in and among us: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”
Much that is happening around us could be cause for despair if we forget who we are and Who God is. However, remembering the history of God’s people, we have a reason for hope.
God’s call to us as individuals and as a community united in faith is to be holy and to share the invitation to belong with the world. Salvation is offered, and we are given the great privilege of proclaiming it. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”