Today's Message: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 49: 3, 55-6; 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3; John 1: 29-34

Who is the last person I saw God in? How did I recognize this? What was special about this person that radiated God? Was it their goodness or their personality? Was it their kindness or compassion?  Was it their overall attitude toward others? Was I more talkative or attentive when I was with this person? Did this encounter change me in any way? Have I seen these God-like qualities in others? Do I talk about these experiences with others? Is it important that I do share these? I would say YES it is important that we share, but unfortunately we are hesitant because we do not feel confident in our evaluations of these people. A thought could be that we change the God-like word for the word holy.  If and when people tell me that I am holy, I want to deny it because I know that I am a sinner in so many ways. I feel very uncomfortable and want to get off this topic. The question now is WHY? If God has called us to be holy, and He has, why do I fight this?

In Exodus 19, the Israelites have arrived in Sinai, three months after Moses has led them from their slavery in Egypt. Moses went up Mt. Sinai and the Lord said, “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob; tell the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to Myself. Therefore, if you harken to My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My special possession, dearer to Me than all other people, though all the earth is Mine. You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. That is what you must tell the Israelites.” God has called all of His followers to be holy.

St. Peter in his letter 1 Peter 1:13-15 states this succinctly: “Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as He who called you is holy, BE HOLY yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written ‘Be holy because I {am} holy.’”  God wants me to be holy … God needs me to be holy. He invites me and graces me to be holy. Let me share a story, then I’ll look at the Scripture readings today for advice on holiness.

The Story: An unkempt little man was walking the streets of a town in Italy years and years ago. Many of the townspeople saw his pale and often tearful face. One day a person saw this man’s misery and said, "You need some cheering up, I have a ticket for you to go to the circus. You can see a clown named Grimaldi who makes everyone happy." "Thanks," said the sad man, "but you see, I am Grimaldi."

Do I realize that God continually gifts me each day to be a person of love, thus holy?

Isaiah shares how the exile in Babylon changed the peoples' attitudes. Their world had collapsed, they were a broken people, realizing that their real purpose was to serve the Lord, to be witnesses to God’s love and care. Isaiah is sharing today that God provides each person with the strength to carry out this task. This is a critical detail in this 49th chapter in Isaiah: God is shaping and forming the people so they can be children of God. Isaiah is introducing the ‘Suffering Servant,’ the ideal servant, who will bring the people back to God, bring them into a faithful relationship. Jesus is this ‘Servant.’ All can see in Jesus the call for salvation and the importance of placing the things of God first in our world. 

Paul continues this message to the Corinthians, saying each member is made holy in Jesus and is thus called to be holy. All the problems that the Corinthians experienced relate to the fact of their not showing people Jesus’ care, forgiveness, compassion and love “… 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.” 

John’s gospel specifically uses the example of John the Baptist to clarify our witnessing and living the mission of Jesus. When John saw Jesus coming toward him, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” This seems to be a strange term to us, yet for centuries the Israelites had offered ritual sacrifices to God: offerings of gifts of love to please God. When we look even further back in our history, we see that Abraham was asked to make an enormous sacrifice of his own son Isaac. A horrendously sad scene turns into an enormous prediction of the life of the ‘Suffering Servant’… the Messiah … Jesus. Abraham turned to see a ram caught in the bushes and sacrificed it to God. (Genesis 22:13.) Further on the lamb is central to the Passover story. God passes through all of Egypt striking down the firstborn of every household, both man and animal. (Exodus 13.) However, the homes of the Jews who have marked their doors with the blood of the lamb are passed over. Also the word ‘lamb’ is used twenty-nine times in the Book of Revelation, always referring to Jesus Christ whose blood saves the New Israel from both sin and death. 

We witness this in our own words every time we come to receive the Eucharist, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb … and we respond … Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.’

Our faith calls us to remember. The scripture writers today remember how God has touched them.  During the Advent and Christmas season, we remembered the people who touched us … loved us … formed and shaped us into the people we are today. We remember the people we have formed and shaped. Over and above all this ‘forming and shaping’ has been our loving Lord God who has and continues to touch us each day. We ask for God’s grace so that we can touch others as we have been touched. 

I received a prayer this Christmas … it says it all:“Lord, Here I am. I trust that You have an incredible plan for me. Transform my life. Everything is on the table. Take what You want to take and give what You want to give. I make myself 100 percent available to You today. Transform me into the person You created me to be, so I can live the life You envisioned for me at the beginning of time. I hold nothing back. I am 100 percent available. Lead me, challenge me, encourage me, and open my eyes to all Your possibilities. Show me what it is You want me to do, and I will do it. Amen.”

I reflect on:

•  I don’t have to achieve holiness all by myself; this is the job description of the Holy Spirit. If I condition myself daily to listening to the Spirit, I will be brought to holiness. Do I remember what God has done for me? Does that spur me to act?
•  I am to be transformed daily into the person of Christ; to be a love-gift to my world. How am I doing? 

Sacred Space 2020 states:

“‘Lamb of God’ evokes Old Testament passages: of the Passover lamb, and of the suffering servant in Isaiah, led like a lamb to the slaughter, bearing our sins. Lord, whenever I hear of some atrocious barbarism and of the injustice and pain people suffer through others’ wickedness, I remember that this is the world You entered, the burden You took Yourself. You had a strong back to carry the evil that is in the world. Remind me to rely on Your strength and compassion.”