Gospel Reflection 15th January

The 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – The Chosen One of God

And so with the Season of Christmas behind us, we begin the Sundays of ordinary time. Immediately our attention is drawn to the person of Jesus Christ.

This Sunday, John the Baptist, the great voice and prophet of Advent makes another great proclamation about Jesus, ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God who takes way the sins of the world.’ As always, he points and leads us to the person of Jesus. Lest we are in any doubt, John clearly puts before us the central mission and ministry of Jesus. John is also very clear about the identity of Jesus and from where he comes; ‘he is the Chosen One of God.’ John was not promoting or drawing attention to himself. John was the message in time; Jesus is the Word for all time. John was a lamp preparing g the way; Jesus is the light of and for the world. As the response to the psalm this Sunday tells us, Jesus did not come to do what he wanted or carry out his own will, he came to do the will of the One who sent him. Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to share the good news of God’s love with the poor.

Today in our modern culture, we are surrounded if not bombarded by celebrities of one kind or another. Often their popularity does not last and their star can fade very quickly. Jesus is not a trendy celebrity. He is not famous or fashionable for a short while and then gone. He is the Chosen One of God. He is the Word who took flesh and who now lives among us, in us and through us. There are many celebrities who claim to have thousand and even millions of followers on twitter. Jesus is not one of them. Jesus calls each of us by our own name personally. When Jesus invites us to follow him, he is inviting us to a deep, personal and intimate relationship with him. It is neither or casual or temporary.

Jesus calls us to be his followers and disciples. Through our baptism we are all called and invited to share in and carry on his mission and ministry. Jesus called men and woman to be his witnesses in his time while on earth. Today as members of his body, the church, we are called to hear the good news ourselves and then proclaim and build the Kingdom of God whenever and wherever we can. We do this through the quality of our lives; how we speak to each other and how we treat each other. As St. Francis of Assisi reminds, we must we do all we can to spread the good news of the gospel and if we have to, we will have to use words.

As John points to Jesus, the Lamb of God, may we take up our cross and follow where he leads.

•  Michael Moore OMI