January 18, 2026
Second Sunday in Ordinary
Time
Lectionary: 64
Reading
1
The LORD said to
me: You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
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!
It is too little, the LORD 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.
Responsorial
Psalm
R/ (8a and
9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Reading
2
Paul, called to be
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
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.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him,
he gave power to become children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
John the Baptist
saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven
and remain upon him.
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.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011826.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
49:3,5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34
Today we begin again the Sundays in the Ordinary Season, now
of the Year A liturgy. On most Sundays in Year A, we will be following the
Gospel of Matthew. However, today’s Gospel reading is from John.
Our readings speak about two things: the identity of Jesus,
and the mission of Jesus. We need to know who Jesus is, if we want to be his
disciples. We also need to know what his mission is, if we want to be good
disciples. Because a good disciple is also an apostle. By definition, a
disciple is a follower, whereas an apostle is the bearer of a message from a
superior. The Christian disciple not only follows the gospel of Jesus, but also
helps others to hear and accept it.
Who is Jesus?
Who is Jesus? We see him today, simultaneously in the role of Lord and Servant.
Today’s Gospel speaks about Jesus being baptised by John the Baptist. As Jesus
approaches, John announces to some of his own disciples:
Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world!
Why is Jesus called by this strange title, the Lamb of God?
It refers back to the origins of the great Jewish feast of the Passover.
According to the tradition, God had been urging the Pharaoh to let God’s people
leave Egypt. There had been a series of plagues, but each time Pharaoh reneged
on his promise to let the people go. The final and most terrible plague
involved the slaying of every firstborn child in Egypt.
In order that the Israelites might not be punished, they
were told to smear the doorposts of their houses with the blood of a lamb. When
God’s angel struck, he passed over the blood-painted houses of the Israelites,
and their children were spared. They had, in effect, been saved by the blood of
the lamb.
Pharaoh acknowledged defeat and finally said he would let
the Israelites go (he would go back on his word once more, and with disastrous
results). On the night before the Israelites left, under the leadership of
Moses, they had a final meal which included the eating of a roast lamb (the same
lamb whose blood had been painted on the doorposts of the house). The lamb then
becomes the sign and symbol of the liberation of God’s people from slavery and
oppression.
This great event of the Exodus, the ‘going out’, was and is
commemorated in the Passover meal which Jesus celebrated with his disciples at
the Last Supper, and that which is still celebrated by Jews worldwide. The
Passover meal is now also being observed unofficially by many groups of
Catholics and other Christians during Holy Week.
Jesus the eternal Lamb
But for us—and this is John the Baptist’s meaning—Jesus is the new Lamb which
brings freedom and liberation from the oppression of evil and sin. He
sacrifices himself to take away our sins.
Through his death he liberates us. It is no coincidence that
Jesus’ sacrificial death took place at the Passover. He is the new Pasch—he
is the Lamb who both sacrifices himself, and is sacrificed to liberate us. It
is his blood poured out that is the sign of our salvation.
Jesus can do this because he is at the same time our Lord
and our Servant. Because he is our Lord, he can take away our sins. Because he
is a servant, he sacrifices his life for us. And he is not only our servant, he
is our friend. As he told his disciples at the Last Supper:
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life
for one’s friends. (John 15:13)
And he insists that his disciples are his friends, not
servants. Even more, Jesus is our Brother.
Jesus and John
John the Baptist also speaks of Jesus in the same way. He says:
After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was
before me.
We know that John and Jesus are related. And we know, from
Luke’s Gospel, that John is older than Jesus by about six months, yet he says
that Jesus ranks above him and existed before him.
John appears first, proclaiming the Kingdom of God. But
Jesus precedes John in dignity and status. Because, before John was even
conceived in his mother’s womb, Jesus, the Word of God, already existed.
So John says:
I myself did not know him…
How come he does not know his own cousin, although he makes
clear statements about him? Why does he not know his cousin? Of course, he
knows Jesus while at the same time he does not know him. For at first, he did
not know the real identity of Jesus. Jesus is not only his younger relative.
Jesus is his Lord and his God.
Son of God
When did John know? When, he says, he:
saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it
remained on him.
John goes on:
I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to
baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and
remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
And then he makes his declaration of faith:
And I myself have seen and have testified that this is
the Chosen One.
Jesus is Lord and God. In this first chapter of his Gospel,
John gives all of Jesus’ titles: Word, Son of the Father, Lamb of God, Son of
God, Messiah [the Christ], Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Joseph, King of Israel, Son
of Man.
And yet, this Jesus Lord is standing in the river water,
together with many sinners. He is God, but he has come to serve us, to love us,
to liberate us, to mingle with us, to be one of us. And he asks us to work with
him in the same way—to be in the world and to serve the world, to serve all as
brothers and sisters.
Jesus as servant
The First Reading also speaks of Jesus as servant:
You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
The prophet says the Lord:
…formed me in the womb to be his servant…
And what is the work of this servant? His work is:
…to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him…
In the Reading, it is Isaiah who is being spoken to by “the
Lord”, but the words clearly are now applied to Jesus—and by implication also
to us.
But it is not enough to bring just the Jews back to God:
It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel…
Much more, as Isaiah continues:
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
Jesus is the Light of the whole world. He wants every single
person to experience his salvation. He wants every single person to enter the
Kingdom of God. He wants every person to experience the truth, the love and the
freedom of the gospel. The mission of Jesus is to bring all the people of the
world back to God, their Creator, their Beginning and their End.
Our common mission
The mission of Jesus is also our mission. We cannot be good disciples of Jesus
if we are not also good apostles. To be a good Christian necessarily entails
being a good evangeliser. Our duty is not only to save our own souls and ‘go to
heaven’. Our duty is also to share our faith with others, help them to know
Jesus and his gospel, and to experience directly the love of God.
Where can we do this? In our homes and families, in our
working places, in the area covered by our parish.
Let us pray that God will help us to work together with
Jesus to establish his Kingdom in the whole world, and especially in that part
of it where we live out our lives.
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Sunday, January 18,
2026
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Opening Prayer
In this prayerful reading of the Gospel of John, we recall the
words of John Henry Newman to accompany and stimulate us, words that he liked
to use in prayer to the Lord: Stay with me, and I shall begin to shine as you
shine; to shine so as to be light for others. Jesus, the light will all come
from you: nothing will be because of me. It will be you who shines on others
through me. Grant that I may praise you thus, in the way that you like most,
shining on all those who are around me. Give them and me your light; enlighten
them together with me, through me. Teach me to spread your praise, your truth,
your will. Grant that I may make you known not through words but by example,
that influence of solidarity that comes from what I do, visibly resembling your
saints, and clearly full of the love that grows in my heart for you» (Meditations and Devotions).
Gospel Text - John 1: 29-34
29 The next day, he saw Jesus
coming towards him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away
the sin of the world. 30 It was of him that I said, "Behind me comes one
who has passed ahead of me because he existed before me." 31 I
did not know him myself, and yet my purpose
in coming to baptize with water was so that he might be revealed to Israel.' 32
And John declared, 'I saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven
and rest on him. 33 I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptize
with water had said to me, "The man on whom you see the Spirit come down
and rest is the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit." 34 I have
seen, and I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.'
A Prayerful Silent Pause
The Word of God demands that we
want and welcome it through a meditation of silence. Quieten yourself, allow
yourself to welcome the presence of God in his Word; a silence that makes room
in your heart so that God may come and talk to you.
A Symbolical Reading
This Gospel passage speaks of two animals of
great spiritual value in the Bible: the lamb and the dove. The first alludes to
significant texts in the Bible: the paschal meal of the exodus (cc. 12-13); the
glory of the Christ-Lamb in the Apocalypse.
The Symbol of the Lamb:
Let us turn our attention to the symbol of the «Lamb (amnos) of God», and to its meaning.
•
A first biblical allusion for an understanding
of this expression used by John the Baptist to point out the person of Jesus,
is the figure of the victorious Lamb in
the book of the Apocalypse: in 7: 17 the Lamb is the shepherd of the nations;
in 17:14 the Lamb squashes the evil powers on earth. In Jesus’ time, people
imagined that at the end of time a victorious lamb or one that would destroy
the powers of sin, injustice and evil would appear. This idea conforms to the
eschatological preaching of John the Baptist who warned that God’s anger was
imminent (Lk 3: 7), that the axe was already laid at the roots of the trees,
and that God was ready to cut down and throw on the fire every tree that did
not bear good fruit (Lk 3: 9). Mt 3: 12 and Lk 3: 17.
Another very powerful expression with which the Baptist
introduces Jesus is in Matthew 3: 12: «His winnowing-fan is in his hand; he
will clear his threshingfloor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff
he will burn in a fire that will never go out». It is not wrong to think that
John the Baptist could describe Jesus as the lamb of God who destroys the sin
of the world. In fact, in 1 John 3: 5 it is written: «Now you know that he
appeared in order to abolish sin»; and in 3: 8: «It was to undo all that the
devil has done that the Son of God appeared». It is possible that John the
Baptist greeted Jesus as the victorious lamb who, by God’s command, was to
destroy evil in the world.
•
A second biblical allusion is to the Lamb as the suffering servant. This
figure of the suffering servant or of Jhwh is the subject of four canticles in
DeuteroIsaiah: 42: 1-4, 7, 9; 49: 1-6, 9, 13; 50: 4-9, 11); 52: 13-53, 12. We
need to ask ourselves whether the use of «Lamb of God» in John 1: 29 is not
colored by the use of “lamb” to allude to the suffering Servant of Yahweh in
Isaiah 53. Did John really consider Jesus the lamb as the suffering Servant?
There certainly are no clear proofs that the Baptist made
such a connection, nor are there proofs that exclude such a possibility.
Indeed, in Isaiah 53: 7 it is written that the Servant:
«never opened his mouth, like a sheep that is dumb before
its shearers, never opening its mouth». This description is applied to Jesus in
Acts 8: 32, and so this likeness between the Suffering Servant and Jesus was
made by the early Christians (see Mt 8: 17 = Is 53: 4; Heb 9: 28 = Is 53: 12).
Besides, in John the Baptist’s description of Jesus in 1:
32-34, there are two aspects that recall the figure of the Servant: in v. 32
John the Baptist says that he saw the Spirit coming down on Jesus and resting
on him; in 34 he identifies Jesus as the chosen of God. Thus also in Isaiah 42:
1 (a passage the synoptics also connect with the baptism of Jesus) we read:
«Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights (see
Mk 1: 11). I have endowed him with my spirit».
Again in Isaiah 61: 1: «The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh has
been given to me». These biblical allusions strengthen the possibility that the
Evangelist made a connection between the Servant of Isaiah 42; 53 and the Lamb
of God.
In other parts of John’s Gospel, we also
find Jesus described with the traits of the suffering Servant (12: 38 = Is 53:
1).
One interesting aspect to be noticed is that the Lamb of
God is said to take away the sin of the world. In Isaiah 53: 4, 12, it is said
that the Servant bears or takes on himself the sins of many. By his death, Jesus
takes away sin or takes it on himself.
Thus according to the second interpretation, the Lamb as
suffering Servant, is Christ who offers himself freely to eliminate sin from
the world and restore his brothers and sisters in the flesh back to God.
We find a modern confirmation of this
interpretation of Jesus as “Lamb of God” in a document of the Italian bishops:
«The Apocalypse of John, going even to the ultimate depths of the mystery of
the One sent by the Father, recognizes in him the Lamb who is sacrificed “since
the foundation of the world” (Apc 13: 8), the One whose wounds healed us (1 Pt
2: 25; Is 53: 5)» (Communicating the
Gospel in a changing world, 15).
• A third biblical allusion
is the Lamb as the paschal lamb. John’s
Gospel is full of Paschal symbolism especially in relation to the death of
Jesus. For the Christian community for whom John is writing his Gospel, the
Lamb takes away the sin of the world by his death. In fact, in John 19: 14 it
is written that Jesus was sentenced to death at midday on the eve of the Pasch,
that is at the time when priests began to sacrifice paschal lambs in the Temple
for Easter. Another connection of the paschal symbolism with the death of Jesus
is that while Jesus was on the cross, a sponge soaked in vinegar was raised up
to him on a stick (19: 29), and it was the stick or hyssop that was dipped into
the blood of the paschal lamb to sprinkle the doorposts of the Israelites (Es
12: 22). Then in John 19: 36 the fulfilment of Scripture that not one bone of
Jesus would be broken, is clearly a reference to the text in Exodus 12: 46
where it is written that not one bone of the paschal lamb must be broken. The
description of Jesus as the Lamb is found in another of John’s works, namely
the Apocalypse: in 5: 6 mention is made of the sacrificed lamb; in 7: 17 and
22: 1 the Lamb is the one from whom flows the spring of living water and this
aspect is also an allusion to Moses who made water to flow from the rock;
finally, in 5: 9 reference is made to the redeeming blood of the Lamb, another
paschal motif that recalls the salvation of the houses of the Israelites from
the danger of death.
There is a parallel between the blood of the lamb sprinkled
on the doorposts as a sign of liberation and the blood of the lamb offered in a
sacrifice of liberation. Soon Christians began to compare Jesus to the paschal
lamb and, in doing so, they did not hesitate to use sacrificial language:
«Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed» (1 Cor 5: 7), including Jesus’ task
of taking away the sin of the world.
The Symbol of the Dove:
This second symbol also has several aspects
to it. First of all, the expression “like a dove” was common to express the
affective connection with the nest. In our context it says that the Spirit has
found its nest, its natural habitat of love in Jesus. Moreover, the dove
symbolizes the love of the Father that rests on Jesus as in a permanent
dwelling place (see Mt 3: 16; Mk 1: 10; Lk 3: 22). Then the expression «like a
dove» is used in connection with the verb to descend to express that it is not
a question of the physical aspect of a dove but the way the Spirit descends
(like the flight of a dove), in the sense that it does not strike terror but
rather inspires trust. Such biblical symbolism of the dove does not have
parallel symbolisms in the Bible; however, an old rabbinical exegesis compares
the hovering of the Spirit of God over the primordial waters to the fluttering
of the dove over its nest. It is not impossible that in using this symbol, John
wanted to say that the descent of the Spirit in the shape of a dove was a clear
reference to the beginning of creation: the incarnation of God’s plan in Jesus
is the summit and aim of God’s creative activity.
The love of God for Jesus (corresponding to
the movement of the dove returning to its nest) urges him to pass on the
fullness of his divine essence (the Spirit is love and loyalty).
The Message
•
Christ is
our salvation: The Baptist had the task of pointing out in Jesus «the lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world». The proclamation of the Gospel,
the word of Jesus Christ, is as essential and indispensable today as it was
yesterday. We never cease to need liberation and salvation. Proclaiming the
Gospel does not mean communicating theoretical truths nor is it a collection of
moral teachings. Rather, it means allowing people to experience Jesus Christ,
who came into the world – according to John’s witness – to save humankind from
sin, evil and death. So we cannot transmit the Gospel and at the same time not
pay attention to the daily needs and expectations of people. To speak of faith
in Jesus, lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, means to speak to
people of our time, first asking ourselves what do they seek in the depths of
their heart.
•
“If we wish to hold on to an appropriate
criterion…, we shall need to nurture two complementary focal points… Jesus
Christ is witness to both. The first consists of our effort to listen to the
culture of our world so as to discern the seeds of the Word already present
there, even beyond the visible borders of the Church. To listen to the most
intimate expectations of our contemporaries, consider seriously their wishes
and desires, seek to understand that which burns in their hearts and what makes
them afraid and diffident”. Besides, paying attention to the needs and
expectations of people «does not mean renouncing what is different in
Christianity, or the transcendence of the Gospel… the Christian message points
to a fully human way of life but does not limit itself to presenting mere
humanism. Jesus Christ came so that we may partake of the divine life, of that
life which has been called “the humanity of God.” (Communicating the Gospel in a changing world n. 34)
•
The
Spirit does not come only to rest on Jesus, but to possess him permanently
so that he may share himself with others in baptism. Finally, the lamb who
pardons sins and “the dove of the Church, meet in Christ”. Here is a quotation
from St. Bernard where he brings together the two symbols: “The lamb is among
animals that which the dove is among birds: innocence, sweetness and
simplicity.”
Some practical suggestions:
•
Renew our availability to collaborate with the
mission of Christ in communion with the Church by helping people to be free of
evil and of sin.
•
To stand by men and women on their journey that
they may live in hope in Jesus who liberates and saves.
•
To give witness to one’s joy in experiencing the
efficacy of the word of Jesus in one’s life.
•
To live by communicating faith giving witness to
Jesus, savior of every person.
Psalm 40
This psalm speaks of the situation of a person who,
freed from some oppression, finds no more authentic attitude in reply to God
than an existential and total availability to his word.
I waited, I waited for Yahweh,
then he stooped to me and heard my cry
for help. He put a fresh song in my mouth, praise of our God. You wanted no
sacrifice or cereal offering, but you gave me an open ear,
you did not ask for burnt offering
or sacrifice for sin; then I said, 'Here I am, I am coming.'
In the scroll of the book it is
written of me, my delight is to do your will; your law, my God, is deep in my
heart.
I proclaimed the saving justice of Yahweh in the great
assembly. See, I will not hold my tongue, as you well know.
Closing Prayer
Father, who on the day of the
Lord gather your people to celebrate the One who is First and Last,
the Living One who has conquered death,
grant us the strength of your
Spirit so that, having broken the chains of evil, we may render you the free
service of our obedience and love, so that we may reign with Christ in glory.
For He is God, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. (From the Liturgy)
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