Second Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Book of Isaiah furnishes the first reading for Mass this weekend. Relief and joy uplifted the atmosphere. Hopes centered upon a bright future. God’s people were entering a new day. The humiliation, uncertainty and anguish of being conquered by Babylonia and living for generations of exile in Babylon were over. They were returning to their homeland hopefully to live lives of prosperity and security.
Lest anyone think that this fortunate turn of events was the mere outcome of changing politics or luck, the prophet eloquently insisted that the plight of the people was improving because of God’s direct and merciful intervention in human affairs. God brought their relief. He promised to protect and sustain the people, despite the misfortunes that might befall them. God was faithful.
In turn, the Hebrews, God’s people, had been faithful during their years of trial. They were human instruments on Earth of the divine will. They never succumbed to the paganism of Babylon.
For its second reading, the Church this weekend selects a passage from St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians. Today, the Apostle Paul ranks among the greatest Christian figures of all time, and certainly he stands as a most extraordinary figure in the development of Christianity in the crucial time of the first century.
Attaining this distinction was not without personal cost for Paul. He had to contend with converts to Christianity who were not always loyal to the Gospel. The culture in which they lived not only surrendered without a whimper to human instincts, but also elevated these instincts literally to the level of the divine, delighting in lust, gluttony and drunkenness.
The Christian converts in Corinth, then one of the major cities of the Mediterranean world, literally were awash in this culture.
Another burden for Paul was that he had to defend his very credentials to preach the Gospel. He had to insist that Jesus had called him to be an Apostle.
The last reading is from St. John’s Gospel. The author of this Gospel was attracted to John the Baptist, to say the least, possibly coming from a group influenced by John the Baptist. Among John the Baptist’s qualities was his absolute intellectual and religious honesty. He was fearless. He thoroughly believed that God had called him to be a prophet.
So, St. John’s Gospel presents John the Baptist in most admiring terms.
In this reading, John the Baptist saw Jesus in the distance and acknowledged him as the Redeemer. The element of sacrifice was vividly present. John identified Jesus as the “Lamb of God” (Jn 1:29).
Finally, treasured Old Testament symbols testified to the identity of Jesus. The dove descended from the sky, from heaven to rest upon Jesus. God is in Jesus.
Reflection
At Christmas, the Church excitedly told us that Jesus was born. Son of Mary, Jesus was a human, as are we. The shepherds adored Jesus, representing all humanity.
At the Epiphany, the Magi found Jesus after searching for him. To assist them, God led them and protected them. In Jesus, they found God.
At the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, the Church introduced us to Jesus as the Savior of doomed humanity. In Jesus, humans would have access to eternal life.
Now, continuing the process, John the Baptist, so reliable and so insightful in his holiness, proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God. In all these settings, the Church carefully puts before us the person of Jesus the Lord and tells us about him.
It invites us to follow him. It invites us to know Jesus. He is one of us. He spoke to us. He died for us. We must truly know the Lord. †