2nd Sunday in Ordinary TimeIsaiah 49: 3, 5-6 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 John 1:29-34 The Gospel this weekend is this: Jn 1:29-34 John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.' 31 I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel." 32 John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove * from the sky and remain upon him. 33 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.' 34 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God." The first reading is this: Is 49: 3, 5-6 You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory… 5 For 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! 6 It is too little, he 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. The second reading is this: 1 Cor 1:1-3 From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 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. 3 I wish you grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. MEDITATION:
This Sunday is about the fact that Christ invites us all to play a role in bringing light to this dark world. The Gospel is of John the Baptist pointing to Jesus. If one pictured all the prophecy of the Old Testament as a slowly rising mountain, then John would be like the summit. The Old Testament is there as a way of leading us up to the New. The first reading is of the call of Isaiah to help bring God's light to the ends of the earth. The second is of Paul introducing himself to the Corinthians as a messenger sent by Christ. One may wonder why didn't John simply remain with Jesus after the encounter at the Jordan river, rather than coming across him the next day by chance, and I suppose the answer is that it wasn't by chance. John never left Christ, but he lived that way of life in which the company of Christ is more than a physical one. John says that he had been sent to baptize with water and had been told that Christ would appear, and that's telling us of the fact that the Trinity reveal things in a personal way... in a way that's not explained by physical sound waves. That's why we spend time in prayer. Centuries after the incarnation of Christ, all of us can live as his companions! Are you keen to accompany Christ? You can then point Him out to people like the finger of the Baptist. Some people may think that faith in Christ isn't of major importance in our world - it won't build up your muscles or the size of your house or cure a cancer, but we call Jesus the 'light of the world' for good reason. He enables us to see and understand our lives - where we come from - where we're going - and how to get there. Turning the light on in a dark room will not alter the contents of the room, but it certainly improves how we can move about and live in the room. The call to the prophet today ("I will make you a light to the nations" (Is 49:6), is a prophecy of 'the Sun which rises from on high' in Christ's incarnation many years afterwards. He doesn't turn on a light switch - He takes away the sin of the world - and it's our sin which darkens things for us and can give us a real 'headache'. We're sanctified in Christ (1 Cor 1:2) - not as onlookers applauding Him from the outside but as participants within Him. We can reflect Him. That's a part worth playing. And He wants to take the darkness away for us all - not for a 'chosen few' but for all mankind (as stressed in Isaiah today). So it depends on us all playing our part with effort. At home or in the workplace or at class or at the horse-race - we're in the 'human' race - and if the person beside you needs a 'piggy-back', he's not heavy - he's your brother. This Sunday is actually World day of Pilgrims and Refugees. We're not called to be the 'light of the world' but to be mirrors (as St Paul puts it). So let's clean away any dust. In fact, if we just let the light of Christ into our day, He clears away our dust and we can reflect his love for everyone. There are times when life is tough and hope is low, but they're just phases through which we pass. The living testimony of faith in others around me and in the lives of the saints, has been a light for me and all of our lives can join that chain. Let's take communion at mass today with a heart that wants to join it! I'm a sinner, and so are you, as we all admit at the beginning of mass, but that's a humble opening of the door so that what Paul says can come true: 'you have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those who call upon his name' (1 Cor 1:2). As Paul calls us to be sanctified, one may think that the saints were extraordinary people, but they should really be seen as the normal ones! They're simply unconventional in the sense that they don't follow the selfish ways of the world. As we read of John pointing to Christ for us, let's not play the waiting game. Our physical lives flash by! Therése of Lisieux is thspiritual patroness of the missions and she died aged 24. Francis Xavier is the male patron and he died aged 46! Frederick Ozanam, founder of the society of Vincent de Paul (social work), died in 1853 at the age of 40, but by that time, more than 1,500 conferences had been established in four continents. Our lives are a gift from God, so let's use them as best we can in bringing light to this dark world. .......Dara. En ESPAÑOL: Este domingo (Enero 19 º) será el 2º Domingo (del ‘tiempo ordinario’): Is 49:3, 5-6. 1°Cor 1:1-3. Jn 1:29-34.0 Este domingo trata sobre el hecho de que Cristo nos invita a todos a tomar un papel en alumbrar este mundo oscuro. El Evangelio es de San Juan Bautista que apunta a Jesús. Si uno se imaginara toda la profecía del Antiguo Testamento como una montaña gradualmente creciente, entonces Juan estaría como la cúspide. El Antiguo Testamento es como una manera de llevarnos al Nuevo. La primera lectura es de la llamada de Isaías a ayudar a llevar la luz de Dios a los extremos de la tierra. El segundo es de Pablo que se presenta a los Corintios como un mensajero enviado por Cristo. Uno podría preguntarse ¿por qué Juan no permaneció simplemente con Jesús después del encuentro en el río Jordán, en lugar de encontrarse por casualidad con él al siguiente día? Y yo supongo la respuesta: es que no era por casualidad. Juan nunca dejó a Cristo, sino que él vivió ese estilo de vida en que la compañía de Cristo es más que una compañía física. Juan dice que había sido enviado a bautizar con el agua y se le había dicho que Cristo aparecería, y eso muestra que la Trinidad revela las cosas de una manera personal... no se explica por las ondas de sonido físicas. Por eso pasamos tiempo en la oración. Siglos después de la encarnación de Cristo, ¡todos podemos vivir como sus compañeros! ¿Estás dispuesto a acompañar a Cristo? Podrías después señalarle a la gente como el dedo del Bautista. Algunas personas pueden pensar que la fe en Cristo no es de mucha importancia en nuestro mundo - no engrandecerá a sus músculos ni el tamaño de su casa, ni curará un cáncer, pero llamamos a Jesús ‘la luz del mundo’ por una buena razón. Él nos permite ver y entender nuestras vidas – de donde venimos y a dónde vamos - y cómo llegar allí bien. Encendiendo la luz en un cuarto oscuro no alterará lo que hay por dentro, pero mejora ciertamente cómo podemos movernos y vivir en el cuarto. La llamada al profeta hoy ("haré de ti una luz para las naciones" Is 49:6), es una profecía ‘del Sol que nacerá de lo alto’ de la encarnación de Cristo muchos años después. Cristo no enciende una luz eléctrica, sino que cura el pecado del mundo, y es nuestro pecado el que oscurece las cosas y puede darnos un ‘dolor de cabeza’. Nos apuntamos a la santidad en Cristo (1°Cor 1:2) - no como espectadores que le aplauden desde fuera sino como participantes con Él. Él nos pide ayudar a alumbrar a toda la humanidad (como dice Isaías hoy). Necesita que todos pongamos esfuerzo - en casa o en la fábrica o en la clase. De hecho, este domingo es Día Mundial de Peregrinos y Refugiados. No nos llama para ser ‘la luz del mundo’ sino para ser espejos que reflejan su luz (como dice Pablo). Si apenas permitiéramos entrar la luz de Cristo en nuestras mentes, Él disiparía nuestro polvo y podríamos reflejar su amor para todos. A veces la vida es dura y la esperanza es baja, pero éstas son sólo fases por las cuales pasamos. El testimonio viviente de fe en otros alrededor de mí y en las vidas de los santos, ha sido luz para mí, y todas nuestras vidas pueden unirse a esa cadena de luz. ¡Comulguemos en la misa hoy con un corazón que quiere unirse en la cadena! Yo soy un pecador, y tú también, y todos pedimos perdón al principio de la misa, pero ésa es una apertura humilde de la puerta para que lo que dice Pablo pueda hacerse realidad: ‘ Habéis sido santificados en Cristo Jesús, llamados a ser santos, con todos los que acuden a Él’ (1°Cor 1:2). Al leer a Pablo llamándonos a ser santificados, uno puede pensar que los santos eran personas extraordinarias, pero ¡conviene verles como personas normales! Son originales en el sentido de que no siguen las maneras egoístas del mundo. Cuando vemos a Juan apuntando a Cristo para nosotros, no juguemos al juego de esperar. Nuestras vidas físicas en el mundo no duran mucho. Teresa de Lisieux es patrona de las misiones y ella murió a los 24. ¡Francisco Javier es el patrón masculino y murió a los 46! Federico Ozanam, fundador de la sociedad de Vicente de Paúl (hace asistencia social), murió en 1853 a la edad de 40, pero habían surgido más de 1,500 fundaciones en cuatro continentes. Nuestras vidas son regalos de Dios, entonces usémoslas como mejor podamos para alumbrar este mundo oscuro. Comments are closed.
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