Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 65
Lectionary: 65
Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD
where the ark of God was.
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me."
"I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep."
So he went back to sleep.
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
"Here I am, " he said. "You called me."
But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."
At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,
because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.
Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me."
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!"
Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
where the ark of God was.
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me."
"I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep."
So he went back to sleep.
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
"Here I am, " he said. "You called me."
But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."
At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,
because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.
Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me."
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!"
Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
Responsorial
Psalm PS 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
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.
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 II1 COR 6:13C-15A, 17-20
Brothers and sisters:
The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him.
Avoid immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,
but the immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been purchased at a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body.
The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him.
Avoid immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,
but the immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been purchased at a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body.
AlleluiaJN 1:41, 17B
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
We have found the Messiah:
Jesus Christ, who brings us truth and grace.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We have found the Messiah:
Jesus Christ, who brings us truth and grace.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 1:35-42
John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —,
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter.
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —,
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter.
Meditation: "We have found the Messiah!"
Who is Jesus for you? John calls Jesus the Lamb
of God and thus signifies Jesus' mission as the One who redeems us
from our sins. The blood of the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12)
delivered the Israelites from their oppression in Egypt and from the plague of
death. The Lord Jesus freely offered up his life for us on the cross as the
atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 Corinthians 5:7). The blood which he poured
out for us on the cross cleanses, heals, and frees us from our slavery to sin,
and from the "wages of sin which is death" (Romans 6:23) and the
"destruction of both body and soul in hell" (Matthew 10:28).
It is significant that John was the son of the priest,
Zachariah, who participated in the daily sacrifice of a lamb in the temple for
the sins of the people (Exodus 29). In Jesus John saw the true and only
sacrifice which could deliver us from bondage to sin, death, and the powers of
hell. How did John know the true identity of Jesus, as the Son of God and
Savior of the world (John 1:29)? The Holy Spirit revealed to John Jesus' true
nature, such that John bore witness that this is the Son of God. How can we be
certain that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of the living God? The Holy
Spirit makes the Lord Jesus Christ known to us through the gift of faith. God
gives us freely of his Spirit that we may comprehend - with enlightened minds
and eyes of faith - the great mystery and plan of God to unite all things in
his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
"What do you seek?"
John in his characteristic humility was eager to point beyond himself to the Christ (means Anointed One and Messiah). He did not hesitate to direct his own disciples to the Lord Jesus. When two of John's disciples began to seek Jesus out, Jesus took the initiative to invite them into his company. He did not wait for them to get his attention. Instead he met them halfway. He asked them one of the most fundamental questions of life: "What are you looking for?" Jesus asks each one of us the same question:"What are you searching for? Do you know the meaning and purpose for your life?" Only God, the Father and Author of life, can answer that question and make our purpose fully known to us. That is why the Lord Jesus invites each one of us to draw near to himself. He wants us to know him personally - to know what he came to do for us and what he wants to offer us.
John in his characteristic humility was eager to point beyond himself to the Christ (means Anointed One and Messiah). He did not hesitate to direct his own disciples to the Lord Jesus. When two of John's disciples began to seek Jesus out, Jesus took the initiative to invite them into his company. He did not wait for them to get his attention. Instead he met them halfway. He asked them one of the most fundamental questions of life: "What are you looking for?" Jesus asks each one of us the same question:"What are you searching for? Do you know the meaning and purpose for your life?" Only God, the Father and Author of life, can answer that question and make our purpose fully known to us. That is why the Lord Jesus invites each one of us to draw near to himself. He wants us to know him personally - to know what he came to do for us and what he wants to offer us.
"Come and see"
"Come and see" is the Lord's invitation for each one of us to discover the joy of friendship and communion with the One who made us in love for love. Saint Augustine of Hippo reminds us that it is God, our Creator and Redeemer, who seeks us out, even when we are not looking for him: "If you hadn't been called by God, what could you have done to turn back? Didn’t the very One who called you when you were opposed to Him make it possible for you to turn back?" It is God who initiates and who draws us to himself. Without his mercy and help we could not find him on our own.
"Come and see" is the Lord's invitation for each one of us to discover the joy of friendship and communion with the One who made us in love for love. Saint Augustine of Hippo reminds us that it is God, our Creator and Redeemer, who seeks us out, even when we are not looking for him: "If you hadn't been called by God, what could you have done to turn back? Didn’t the very One who called you when you were opposed to Him make it possible for you to turn back?" It is God who initiates and who draws us to himself. Without his mercy and help we could not find him on our own.
When we find something of great value it's natural to
want to share the good news of our discovery with our family, friends, and
neighbors. When Andrew met Jesus and discovered that he was truly the Messiah,
he immediately went to his brother Simon and told him the good news. Andrew
brought his brother to meet Jesus so he could "come and see" for
himself. When Jesus saw Simon approaching he immediately reached out to Simon
in the same way he had done for Andrew earlier. Jesus looked at Simon and
revealed that he knew who Simon was and where he came from even before Simon
had set his eyes on Jesus. Jesus gave Simon a new name which signified that God
had a personal call and mission for him. Jesus gave Simon the name
"Cephas" which is the Aramaic word for "rock". Cephas is
translated as Peter (Petros in Greek and Petrus in
Latin) which also literally means "rock".
To call someone a "rock" was one of the
greatest compliments in the ancient world. The rabbis had a saying that when
God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: "I have discovered a rock to found the
world upon." Through Abraham God established a nation for himself. Through
faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was - the Anointed One (Messiah and Christ)
and the only begotten Son of God. The New Testament describes the church as a
spiritual house or temple with each member joined together as living stones
(see 1 Peter 2:5). Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks or spiritual
stones. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of faith to know the Lord Jesus
personally, power to live the gospel faithfully, and courage to witness the
truth and joy of the Gospel to others. The Lord Jesus is ever ready to draw us
to himself. Do you seek to grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord Jesus
Christ?
"Lord Jesus Christ, fill me with the power of
your Holy Spirit that I may grow in the knowledge of your great love and truth.
Let your Spirit be aflame in my heart that I may joyfully seek to do your will
in all things."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The first disciples longing for the Messiah,
by John Chrysostom (349-407 AD)
"Andrew, after having stayed with Jesus and after
having learned what he did, did not keep the treasure to himself but hurries
and races to his brother in order to let him know the good things Jesus has
shared with him. But why hasn’t John mentioned what they talked about? How do
we know this is why they 'stayed with him'?... Observe what Andrew says to his
brother, 'We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.'
You see how, in a short time, he demonstrates not only the persuasiveness of
the wise teacher but also his own longing that he had from the beginning. For
this word, 'we have found,' is the expression of a soul that longs for his
presence, looking for his coming from above, and is so ecstatic when what he is
looking for happens that he hurries to tell others the good news. This is what
brotherly affection, natural friendship, is all about when someone is eager to
extend a hand to another when it comes to spiritual matters. Also see how he
adds the article, for he does not say 'Messiah' but 'the Messiah.' They were
expecting the Christ who would have nothing in common with the others." (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 19.1)
2nd Sunday of Advent – Cycle B
Note: Where a Scripture text is underlined in the body of this discussion, it is recommended that the reader look up and read that passage.
Introduction
Advent is really a season in two parts, with the 1st two weeks concerned with the Lord’s coming as Judge of all at the end of time and the 2nd two weeks serving as the proximate preparation for His coming in the flesh. Our activities, like the Church’s readings, should reflect that dual character.
The Old Testament readings of Advent set the mood and theme each week. As we hear these readings, we need to look at our own dreams and expectations. How do we express them? The prophets of the Old Testament used beautiful poetic expressions, such as the lamb lying at peace with the lion, swords being beaten into plowshares, and the great banquet to come that will be presided over by the Lord. What poetic and symbolic expressions would we use to describe the age that is to come when we will know the Lord fully? What does the “Day of the Lord” mean for us? Can we identify with the dreams of the prophets? Advent is a season of anticipation.
1st Reading - Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
The prophet Isaiah spoke words of encouragement to his people who would be in exile years after Isaiah prophesied. He wrote “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah lived and wrote around 750 B.C., Israel (the Northern Kingdom) was deported in 722 B.C. and Judah (the Southern Kingdom) was deported in 605-586 B.C.) Cyrus of Persia began defeating the Babylonian armies in 538 B.C. The prophet points out the hope (which was later realized) that under Persian rule the Jewish people may be returned to their homeland (Isaiah 44-45). They will build “a highway for our God.” In this “highway builder” role they will be preparing the way for their Lord. In the gospel reading we will study today, Mark quotes this passage from Isaiah in introducing John the Baptist.
As Christians we are also called to be highway builders preparing the way for Christ to enter more fully into our lives. We are proclaimers of “glad tidings.”
During the time of Isaiah, conquered peoples were often put to work building roads for the victors. In the process of road building they would be filling in the valleys and cutting down the high places to make the road smoother. Sometimes roads would be built especially for the victorious ruler to ride in triumph. This would become the “king’s way.” The Jews in Babylon dreamed of the day when they would build their own “king’s way” back to their homeland. It would be Yahweh, their king, who would ride triumphantly at the head of their pilgrimage home. It is of this dream that Isaiah writes today in the beginning of the part of his book which is known as the “Book of Comfort” (Isaiah 40-55).
40:1 Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.
This is an expression of the covenant bond between them.
2 Speak tenderly
Literally, “speak to the heart.” In Hebrew anthropology the heart was considered to be the organ of reasoning. God is attempting to convince Israel of His concern.
to Jerusalem,
This is not a place, but a people, the chosen people.
and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.
This is not an excess of divine anger, it proclaims a completion of the purification process of sorrow. A new era is dawning, inaugurated by God’s Word. A word is formed deep within the mind and heart of God and achieves its effects only when received just as personally within man.
3 A voice cries out:
Someone speaks up from the celestial assembly. This voice says that the Lord Himself is about to lead a new exodus through the desert.
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
A manner of life for men and for God – there can be two ways, the ways of good and of evil. John the Baptist is to announce “the way of the Lord” (Mark 1:3, our gospel reading for today) and Jesus Himself declares that He is the Way (John 14:6). Christianity, therefore, is called simply “the way.”
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! 4 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. 5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
God’s redeeming presence. In the Old Testament times this was a reference to the Temple.
and all mankind shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
This new theophany is not restricted to the Temple, but is worldwide. In Hebrew, “all mankind” is literally “all flesh.”
9 Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; Cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news!
The glorious Jerusalem is no longer emasculated with sensuousness and hypocrisy, but is hailed as the home of God on earth and the center of redemption.
Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! 10 Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm;
The sacred author overlooks the Davidic pretenders to the throne and sees only one king, Yahweh.
Here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. 11 Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, Carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.
Note the easy transition from king to shepherd. Yahweh is a shepherd-king, who attracts and even carries His people.
2nd Reading - 2 Peter 3:8-14
The epistle readings of Advent focus on life in the interim time between the resurrection and the fulfillment of the reign of Christ. We live in semi-darkness until the light of Christ dawns more fully in our lives. But we must live as if the lights will come on in their highest intensity at any moment.
8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
The day of the parousia must not be overlooked or disregarded.
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.
A quotation from Psalm 90:4 (89:4 in the Douay Rheims translation). Seen also as the delayed judgment of Adam. Although in Genesis 2:17 God says “On the day you eat it you will die ...”, Adam lived for another thousand years.
“Since it is written concerning the day of judgment that a thousand years will be like one day, who can tell whether we shall spend days, months or even years in that fire?” [Saint Caesar of Arles (after A.D. 542), Sermons 179]
9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
When God’s providence to bless and judge is attacked, several typical arguments were used: 1) A provident God could not make useless or harmful creatures; 2) God’s foreknowledge would destroy human freedom; 3) God is slow to reward the just and punish the wicked. By harping on God’s delay, heterodox Greeks and Jews argued against God’s future judgment. God’s delay should not be seen as an argument against Him, but as divine forbearance to sinners – He desires all to be saved.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
When no one expects it
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.
The “mighty roar” is possibly the trumpet and archangel’s cry mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A) or the roar of the fire of judgment (1 Corinthians 3:12-14).
11 Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought (you) to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
Doctrine affects life, so reference is made to moral behavior consonant with belief in God’s just judgment. We are to live lives of holiness and reverence for God so that we may stand before Him on that final day.
“As you wait for the end of all things, you must live holy lives according to the three laws – the Old Testament, the New Testament and the law of nature – and you must keep faith in the Trinity, which is the law of godliness.” [Hilary of Arles (ca A.D. 428), Commentary on 2 Peter]
12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire.
How different are believers and scoffers: believers await and hasten the day (we ask for this in the mystery of faith in the Eucharistic prayer at Mass), while scoffers mock its delay and disregard it.
13 But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
We await the heavenly Jerusalem. Purified by fire, only saints will share in God’s kingdom of justice, while the wicked will be forever doomed.
14 Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
Gospel - Mark 1:1-8
Our attention turns to John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. If we are to move toward the kingdom of God, we have to confront the way we live our lives. Judgment and confrontation are the seed beds of change.
“Note that Mark mentions nothing of the nativity or infancy or youth of the Lord. He has made his Gospel begin directly with the preaching of John.” [Saint Augustine of Hippo (ca. A.D. 400), The Harmony of the Evangelists 2,6,18]
1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Son of God).
Mark is the only writer to title his book a “gospel.” By calling his book “the gospel” Saint Mark means that it is not primarily an account about Jesus but a proclamation of the Risen Christ in which He is again made present. What follows is the good news, which re-presents Jesus the Messiah and Son of God in incidents taken from tradition regarding His earthly ministry through to His resurrection. Some manuscripts omit “Son of God.”
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.
This is not from Isaiah, but from Malachi 3:1. The messenger is identified in Malachi 4:5 (Malachi 3:23 in New American and New Jerusalem translations) as Elijah, he is the one who is to come to purify Israel before the Day of Yahweh. This is why the Jews, even to this day, always set a place for Elijah at the Passover table.
3 A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’”
This portion is from Isaiah, our first reading.
4 John (the) Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Participation in John’s ritual of Baptism expressed a person’s willingness to change and God’s willingness to forgive sins before the coming of God’s kingdom.
“Since the Victim had not been offered, nor had the Holy Spirit yet descended, of what kind was this remission of sins? ... Fittingly therefore, when he had said that he came ‘preaching the baptism of repentance,’ he adds, ‘for the remission of sins’; as if to say: he persuaded them to repent of their sins, so that later they might more easily receive pardon through believing in Christ. For unless brought to it by repentance, they would not seek for pardon. His baptism therefore served no other end than as a preparation for belief in Christ.” [Saint
John Chrysostom (A.D. 370), Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 10,2]
5 People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
Josephus (Antiquities 18.52’116-119), a first century Jewish historian, also describes John as a preacher of repentance who used baptism and attracted large crowds.
6 John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist.
He was dressed similar to Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). According to Zechariah 13:4, the hair shirt was the garment of a prophet.
“John, too, wears a leather girdle about his loins; and there was nothing soft or effeminate in Elijah, but every bit of him was hard and virile. He, too, certainly was a shaggy man.” [Saint Jerome (ca. A.D. 415), Homily On The Exodus 91]
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
The motivation for this unusual diet may have been ritual purity rather than self-depravation. According to Leviticus 11:22, locusts and grasshoppers were clean animals. It could also be the food of a nomad – one who depended upon God’s bounty rather than raising food for himself.
7 And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
The work of a servant or slave
8 I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
In the manual of discipline found in the dead sea scrolls it says “then (in the season of divine visitation) God shall purify with His truth all man’s deeds and will refine for Himself the body of man, rooting out every spirit of iniquity from the midst of his flesh and cleansing it of all impurity with a holy spirit. Like waters of purification he shall pour over him the spirit of truth.” Such background for this verse would explain why it is immediately followed by the episode of Jesus’ own baptism and His temptation by Satan.
“Neither repentance avails without grace, nor grace without repentance; for repentance must first condemn sin, that grace may blot it out. So then John, who was a type of the law, came baptizing for repentance, while Christ came to offer grace.” [Saint Ambrose of Milan (ca. A.D. 380), Epistle 84]
Note: Where a Scripture text is underlined in the body of this discussion, it is recommended that the reader look up and read that passage.
Introduction
Advent is really a season in two parts, with the 1st two weeks concerned with the Lord’s coming as Judge of all at the end of time and the 2nd two weeks serving as the proximate preparation for His coming in the flesh. Our activities, like the Church’s readings, should reflect that dual character.
The Old Testament readings of Advent set the mood and theme each week. As we hear these readings, we need to look at our own dreams and expectations. How do we express them? The prophets of the Old Testament used beautiful poetic expressions, such as the lamb lying at peace with the lion, swords being beaten into plowshares, and the great banquet to come that will be presided over by the Lord. What poetic and symbolic expressions would we use to describe the age that is to come when we will know the Lord fully? What does the “Day of the Lord” mean for us? Can we identify with the dreams of the prophets? Advent is a season of anticipation.
1st Reading - Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
The prophet Isaiah spoke words of encouragement to his people who would be in exile years after Isaiah prophesied. He wrote “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah lived and wrote around 750 B.C., Israel (the Northern Kingdom) was deported in 722 B.C. and Judah (the Southern Kingdom) was deported in 605-586 B.C.) Cyrus of Persia began defeating the Babylonian armies in 538 B.C. The prophet points out the hope (which was later realized) that under Persian rule the Jewish people may be returned to their homeland (Isaiah 44-45). They will build “a highway for our God.” In this “highway builder” role they will be preparing the way for their Lord. In the gospel reading we will study today, Mark quotes this passage from Isaiah in introducing John the Baptist.
As Christians we are also called to be highway builders preparing the way for Christ to enter more fully into our lives. We are proclaimers of “glad tidings.”
During the time of Isaiah, conquered peoples were often put to work building roads for the victors. In the process of road building they would be filling in the valleys and cutting down the high places to make the road smoother. Sometimes roads would be built especially for the victorious ruler to ride in triumph. This would become the “king’s way.” The Jews in Babylon dreamed of the day when they would build their own “king’s way” back to their homeland. It would be Yahweh, their king, who would ride triumphantly at the head of their pilgrimage home. It is of this dream that Isaiah writes today in the beginning of the part of his book which is known as the “Book of Comfort” (Isaiah 40-55).
40:1 Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.
This is an expression of the covenant bond between them.
2 Speak tenderly
Literally, “speak to the heart.” In Hebrew anthropology the heart was considered to be the organ of reasoning. God is attempting to convince Israel of His concern.
to Jerusalem,
This is not a place, but a people, the chosen people.
and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.
This is not an excess of divine anger, it proclaims a completion of the purification process of sorrow. A new era is dawning, inaugurated by God’s Word. A word is formed deep within the mind and heart of God and achieves its effects only when received just as personally within man.
3 A voice cries out:
Someone speaks up from the celestial assembly. This voice says that the Lord Himself is about to lead a new exodus through the desert.
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
A manner of life for men and for God – there can be two ways, the ways of good and of evil. John the Baptist is to announce “the way of the Lord” (Mark 1:3, our gospel reading for today) and Jesus Himself declares that He is the Way (John 14:6). Christianity, therefore, is called simply “the way.”
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! 4 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. 5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
God’s redeeming presence. In the Old Testament times this was a reference to the Temple.
and all mankind shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
This new theophany is not restricted to the Temple, but is worldwide. In Hebrew, “all mankind” is literally “all flesh.”
9 Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; Cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news!
The glorious Jerusalem is no longer emasculated with sensuousness and hypocrisy, but is hailed as the home of God on earth and the center of redemption.
Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! 10 Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm;
The sacred author overlooks the Davidic pretenders to the throne and sees only one king, Yahweh.
Here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. 11 Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, Carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.
Note the easy transition from king to shepherd. Yahweh is a shepherd-king, who attracts and even carries His people.
2nd Reading - 2 Peter 3:8-14
The epistle readings of Advent focus on life in the interim time between the resurrection and the fulfillment of the reign of Christ. We live in semi-darkness until the light of Christ dawns more fully in our lives. But we must live as if the lights will come on in their highest intensity at any moment.
8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
The day of the parousia must not be overlooked or disregarded.
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.
A quotation from Psalm 90:4 (89:4 in the Douay Rheims translation). Seen also as the delayed judgment of Adam. Although in Genesis 2:17 God says “On the day you eat it you will die ...”, Adam lived for another thousand years.
“Since it is written concerning the day of judgment that a thousand years will be like one day, who can tell whether we shall spend days, months or even years in that fire?” [Saint Caesar of Arles (after A.D. 542), Sermons 179]
9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
When God’s providence to bless and judge is attacked, several typical arguments were used: 1) A provident God could not make useless or harmful creatures; 2) God’s foreknowledge would destroy human freedom; 3) God is slow to reward the just and punish the wicked. By harping on God’s delay, heterodox Greeks and Jews argued against God’s future judgment. God’s delay should not be seen as an argument against Him, but as divine forbearance to sinners – He desires all to be saved.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
When no one expects it
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.
The “mighty roar” is possibly the trumpet and archangel’s cry mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A) or the roar of the fire of judgment (1 Corinthians 3:12-14).
11 Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought (you) to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
Doctrine affects life, so reference is made to moral behavior consonant with belief in God’s just judgment. We are to live lives of holiness and reverence for God so that we may stand before Him on that final day.
“As you wait for the end of all things, you must live holy lives according to the three laws – the Old Testament, the New Testament and the law of nature – and you must keep faith in the Trinity, which is the law of godliness.” [Hilary of Arles (ca A.D. 428), Commentary on 2 Peter]
12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire.
How different are believers and scoffers: believers await and hasten the day (we ask for this in the mystery of faith in the Eucharistic prayer at Mass), while scoffers mock its delay and disregard it.
13 But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
We await the heavenly Jerusalem. Purified by fire, only saints will share in God’s kingdom of justice, while the wicked will be forever doomed.
14 Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
Gospel - Mark 1:1-8
Our attention turns to John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. If we are to move toward the kingdom of God, we have to confront the way we live our lives. Judgment and confrontation are the seed beds of change.
“Note that Mark mentions nothing of the nativity or infancy or youth of the Lord. He has made his Gospel begin directly with the preaching of John.” [Saint Augustine of Hippo (ca. A.D. 400), The Harmony of the Evangelists 2,6,18]
1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Son of God).
Mark is the only writer to title his book a “gospel.” By calling his book “the gospel” Saint Mark means that it is not primarily an account about Jesus but a proclamation of the Risen Christ in which He is again made present. What follows is the good news, which re-presents Jesus the Messiah and Son of God in incidents taken from tradition regarding His earthly ministry through to His resurrection. Some manuscripts omit “Son of God.”
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.
This is not from Isaiah, but from Malachi 3:1. The messenger is identified in Malachi 4:5 (Malachi 3:23 in New American and New Jerusalem translations) as Elijah, he is the one who is to come to purify Israel before the Day of Yahweh. This is why the Jews, even to this day, always set a place for Elijah at the Passover table.
3 A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’”
This portion is from Isaiah, our first reading.
4 John (the) Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Participation in John’s ritual of Baptism expressed a person’s willingness to change and God’s willingness to forgive sins before the coming of God’s kingdom.
“Since the Victim had not been offered, nor had the Holy Spirit yet descended, of what kind was this remission of sins? ... Fittingly therefore, when he had said that he came ‘preaching the baptism of repentance,’ he adds, ‘for the remission of sins’; as if to say: he persuaded them to repent of their sins, so that later they might more easily receive pardon through believing in Christ. For unless brought to it by repentance, they would not seek for pardon. His baptism therefore served no other end than as a preparation for belief in Christ.” [Saint
John Chrysostom (A.D. 370), Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 10,2]
5 People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
Josephus (Antiquities 18.52’116-119), a first century Jewish historian, also describes John as a preacher of repentance who used baptism and attracted large crowds.
6 John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist.
He was dressed similar to Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). According to Zechariah 13:4, the hair shirt was the garment of a prophet.
“John, too, wears a leather girdle about his loins; and there was nothing soft or effeminate in Elijah, but every bit of him was hard and virile. He, too, certainly was a shaggy man.” [Saint Jerome (ca. A.D. 415), Homily On The Exodus 91]
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
The motivation for this unusual diet may have been ritual purity rather than self-depravation. According to Leviticus 11:22, locusts and grasshoppers were clean animals. It could also be the food of a nomad – one who depended upon God’s bounty rather than raising food for himself.
7 And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
The work of a servant or slave
8 I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
In the manual of discipline found in the dead sea scrolls it says “then (in the season of divine visitation) God shall purify with His truth all man’s deeds and will refine for Himself the body of man, rooting out every spirit of iniquity from the midst of his flesh and cleansing it of all impurity with a holy spirit. Like waters of purification he shall pour over him the spirit of truth.” Such background for this verse would explain why it is immediately followed by the episode of Jesus’ own baptism and His temptation by Satan.
“Neither repentance avails without grace, nor grace without repentance; for repentance must first condemn sin, that grace may blot it out. So then John, who was a type of the law, came baptizing for repentance, while Christ came to offer grace.” [Saint Ambrose of Milan (ca. A.D. 380), Epistle 84]
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church,
Picayune, MS http://www.scborromeo.org
SECOND SUNDAY
IN ORDINARY TIME
SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, JOHN 1:35-42
(1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, JOHN 1:35-42
(1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20)
KEY VERSE: "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas," which is translated Peter (v.42).
TO KNOW: The day following Jesus' baptism, John the Baptist observed Jesus coming toward him and he called him by the significant title, the "Lamb of God." Just as the Passover lamb was sacrificed to liberate the Hebrew people from slavery, Jesus was the one who came to take away the world's sins (Jn 1:29). Two of the Baptist's disciples followed Jesus out of curiosity. Upon seeing the pair, Jesus invited them to follow him as his disciples. The new disciples addressed Jesus as their "Rabbi" (teacher), but they soon discovered that he was the "Messiah," God's anointed one (v.41). One of them, Andrew, brought his brother Simon to Jesus. Jesus changed Simon's name to "Cephas," meaning "rock" in the Aramaic language which Jesus spoke. Such a name was appropriate for a strong character like Simon. Changing a person's name indicated a new relationship and function, and a designation of his leadership. He would be the rock, the foundation upon which Jesus would build his Church.
TO LOVE: Have I brought anyone to Jesus? What was the result?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to learn who you are as I walk with you daily.
NOTE: The Greek name "Petros" (Peter) is the masculine for petra, which means "rock." Peter's name always appears first in the lists of the Apostles, and he is mentioned more than any other Apostle. Peter acted as the Apostles' spokesman whenever Jesus questioned them (Mt 16:16). He was present at the Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-8); when Jesus raised Jairus' daughter (Lk 8:51) and at Gethsemane during the Lord's agony (Mk 14:33). After the resurrection, Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs and sheep (Jn 21:16-17). It was Peter who later directed the selection of a successor to Judas (Acts 1:15-26), and he presided at the first council in Jerusalem (Acts 15:6-12). Peter's most important assignment was when Jesus told him: "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt 16:18-19). The Catholic Church regards Peter as the chief apostle and first pope of the Church.
Sunday 14
January 2018
Week II Psalter. Second Sunday in
Ordinary Time.
1 Samuel
3:3-10, 19. Psalm 39(40):2, 4, 7-10. 1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20. John
1:35-42.
Here am I,
Lord; I come to do your will—Psalm 39(40):2, 4, 7-10.
‘Rabbi,
where do you live?’
The gospel has an interesting
dialogue to consider. Jesus asks those who follow him, ‘What do you want?’
Imagine Jesus turning to you and asking, ‘What do you want?’ What is your
answer? Why are you following Jesus? The disciples ask, in response, ‘Where do
you live?’ Again, this is a very good question. Where does Jesus ‘live’?
Jesus invites these two disciples
to ‘come and see’. This same invitation is issued to each one of us.
Discipleship is a journey of discovery. We discover more about Jesus and
ourselves the more we are willing to ‘come and see’. As all our other New
Year’s resolutions fade, perhaps this is one we can keep: to come and see where
Jesus lives throughout the course of this year.
LECTIO DIVINA: 2ND SUNDAY OF
ORDINARY TIME (B)
Lectio Divina:
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Come and you will see
The call of the first Disciples
John 1:35-42
The call of the first Disciples
John 1:35-42
1. Opening prayer
Good Shepherd, my Father, today You also
come down from the eternal mountains and bring with You Your flock and lead it
towards green pastures, of fresh grass, of good water. Today You send ahead of
You Your dearest or favorite lamb, the Lamb whom You love with an
incommensurable love; You give us Your Son Jesus, the Messiah. Behold, He is
here! I beg You, help me to recognize Him, to fix my gaze on Him, my desire, my
expectation. Make me follow Him, that I do not separate myself from Him, that I
enter His house and remain there always. His house, oh Father, are You,
yourself. I want to enter in You, I want to live. May the breath of Your Holy
Spirit attract me, support me and unite me in love to You and to Your Son, my
Lord, today and forever and ever. Amen.
2. Reading
a) To place this passage in its context:
This passage introduces us to the
beginning of the evangelical account of John, clearly showing the succession of
one day after another in of a whole week. Here we are already on the third day
since John the Baptist began to give his witness of Jesus with the invitation
to the disciples to follow the Lord, the Lamb of God. The ministry of Jesus
begins during these days, with the Word of the Father who descends in the midst
of men to meet them and to speak with them and dwell among them.
This place is Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John baptized. Here the encounter with the Word of God takes place and the new life begins.
This place is Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John baptized. Here the encounter with the Word of God takes place and the new life begins.
b) To help in the reading of the
passage:
vv. 35-36: John the Baptist lives a very
strong experience of encounter with Jesus, in fact it is precisely here, on the
third day, that he recognizes Him fully, that he proclaims Him with his whole
strength and shows Him as the true way to follow, as the life to be lived. Here
John diminishes himself to the point of disappearing and grows as witness to
the light.
vv. 37-39: Having accepted the witness
of their master, the disciples of John begin to follow Jesus. After having
listened to His voice, they meet the Word and allow themselves to be challenged
by it. Jesus looks at them, He knows them and begins His dialogue with them. He
takes them with Him, introduces them to the place of His dwelling, and makes
them remain with Him. The Evangelist indicates the exact hour of this face to
face encounter between Jesus and the first disciples.
vv. 40-42: Immediately, the witness
flares up and spreads; Andrew cannot keep silent about what he has seen and
heard, what he has experienced and lived, and immediately becomes a missionary,
calling his brother Peter to come to encounter Jesus. He, fixing His look on
that man, calls him and transforms his life: he was Simon, now he becomes
Peter.
c) Text:
John was standing with two of his
disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of
God." The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus
turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking
for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher
—, "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will
see." So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed
with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of
Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first
found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah"
— which is translated Christ —. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at
him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called
Cephas" — which is translated Peter.
3. A moment of prayerful silence
I remain in silence and allow that these
simple, but powerful words, envelope me, take possession of my life. I allow
Jesus, who is coming, to fix His look on me, I allow Him to ask me, like He
asked them: “What are you looking for?” and I allow Him to take me with Him, to
His house. Because, yes, I want to dwell near Him...
4. Some questions
Now, I try to listen more attentively to
this passage, by taking every word, every verb, being attentive to the
movements, and to the looks. I really try to encounter the Lord in this page,
allowing myself to be searched and known by Him.
a) “The next day John stood
there again”.
In these words I feel the insistence of the search. I feel the faith of John the Baptist which grows. The days are going by. The experience of the encounter with Jesus is intensified. John does not give up, does not get tired, but rather, he always becomes more sure, more convinced, and enlightened. I place myself in contrast to John the Baptist: Am I one who is there, who remains, or rather, do I withdraw, get tired, or become weak and allow my faith to die out? Do I stand there, or do I sit down, do I wait or I do not wait anymore?
In these words I feel the insistence of the search. I feel the faith of John the Baptist which grows. The days are going by. The experience of the encounter with Jesus is intensified. John does not give up, does not get tired, but rather, he always becomes more sure, more convinced, and enlightened. I place myself in contrast to John the Baptist: Am I one who is there, who remains, or rather, do I withdraw, get tired, or become weak and allow my faith to die out? Do I stand there, or do I sit down, do I wait or I do not wait anymore?
b) “Fixing his look on Jesus”.
Here is a beautiful verb which signifies “to look intensely”, to penetrate with the look” and this is repeated in verse 42, referring to Jesus, who looks at Peter to change his life. Many times in the Gospels it is said that Jesus fixes His look on His disciples (Mt 19:26), or on a particular person (Mk 10:21). He fixes His look to love, to call, to enlighten. His look never leaves us. I know that I can find peace by exchanging this look. How can I pretend not to see? Why continue to turn my look from here to there, fleeing from the Lord’s love which has been given to me and has chosen me?
Here is a beautiful verb which signifies “to look intensely”, to penetrate with the look” and this is repeated in verse 42, referring to Jesus, who looks at Peter to change his life. Many times in the Gospels it is said that Jesus fixes His look on His disciples (Mt 19:26), or on a particular person (Mk 10:21). He fixes His look to love, to call, to enlighten. His look never leaves us. I know that I can find peace by exchanging this look. How can I pretend not to see? Why continue to turn my look from here to there, fleeing from the Lord’s love which has been given to me and has chosen me?
c) “They followed Jesus”
This expression referred to the disciples. It does not only mean that they began to walk in the same direction with Christ, but much more: that they consecrated themselves to Him, that they committed their life with Him and for Him. He is the one who takes the initiative. He tells me: “You, follow Me”, like with the rich young man (Mt 19:21) and with Peter (Jn 21:22). How do I respond? Do I have the courage, the love, the ardor, to tell Him: “Master, I will follow You wherever You go!” (Mt 8:19), confirming these words with the facts? Or do I also say, like the one in the Gospel: “I will follow You, but first allow me to....” (Lk 9:61)?
This expression referred to the disciples. It does not only mean that they began to walk in the same direction with Christ, but much more: that they consecrated themselves to Him, that they committed their life with Him and for Him. He is the one who takes the initiative. He tells me: “You, follow Me”, like with the rich young man (Mt 19:21) and with Peter (Jn 21:22). How do I respond? Do I have the courage, the love, the ardor, to tell Him: “Master, I will follow You wherever You go!” (Mt 8:19), confirming these words with the facts? Or do I also say, like the one in the Gospel: “I will follow You, but first allow me to....” (Lk 9:61)?
d) “What do you search?”
The Lord Jesus pronounces the first words in John’s Gospel and they are a very concrete question, addressed to the disciples who are following Him and to me personally. The Lord fixes His look on me and asks me: “What are you searching for?” It is not easy to respond to this question. I must go deep into my heart and listen to myself. What am I really searching for? My energy, my desires, my dreams, my investments, to what purpose are they aimed?
The Lord Jesus pronounces the first words in John’s Gospel and they are a very concrete question, addressed to the disciples who are following Him and to me personally. The Lord fixes His look on me and asks me: “What are you searching for?” It is not easy to respond to this question. I must go deep into my heart and listen to myself. What am I really searching for? My energy, my desires, my dreams, my investments, to what purpose are they aimed?
e) “They remained with Him”
The disciples remain with Jesus, they begin to live with Him, and to have the house in common with Him. Perhaps, they began to feel and experience that the Lord himself is their new house. The verb which John uses here can simply mean to dwell, to stay, but also to dwell in the intense sense of indwelling one in the other. Jesus indwells in the womb of the Father and also offers to us the possibility of indwelling in Him and in all the Trinity. Today, He offers himself here, to me, to live together this indescribable, splendid experience of love. Therefore, what do I decide? Do I also stop like the disciples and remain with Him and in Him? Or do I leave or withdraw from the love and run to seek something else?
The disciples remain with Jesus, they begin to live with Him, and to have the house in common with Him. Perhaps, they began to feel and experience that the Lord himself is their new house. The verb which John uses here can simply mean to dwell, to stay, but also to dwell in the intense sense of indwelling one in the other. Jesus indwells in the womb of the Father and also offers to us the possibility of indwelling in Him and in all the Trinity. Today, He offers himself here, to me, to live together this indescribable, splendid experience of love. Therefore, what do I decide? Do I also stop like the disciples and remain with Him and in Him? Or do I leave or withdraw from the love and run to seek something else?
f) “And leads them to Jesus”.
Andrew runs to call his brother Simon, because He wants to share with him the infinite gift which He has received. He announces and proclaims the Messiah, the savior, and has the strength to take his brother with him. He becomes a guide. This is a very important passage. I do not know if I am sufficiently open and enlightened to witness to Him, who reveals Himself to me so clearly. Perhaps I am afraid, I am embarrassed, I do not have the strength, I am lazy, or I am indifferent?
Andrew runs to call his brother Simon, because He wants to share with him the infinite gift which He has received. He announces and proclaims the Messiah, the savior, and has the strength to take his brother with him. He becomes a guide. This is a very important passage. I do not know if I am sufficiently open and enlightened to witness to Him, who reveals Himself to me so clearly. Perhaps I am afraid, I am embarrassed, I do not have the strength, I am lazy, or I am indifferent?
5. A key for the reading
a) The Lamb of God:
In v. 36 John announces Jesus as the
Lamb of God, repeating the cry which he had already given the day before:
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.
The identification of Jesus with the Lamb
is overflowing with Biblical references, both from the Old and the New
Testament.
The Lamb already is mentioned in the
Book of Genesis, in chapter 22, at the moment of the sacrifice of Isaac; God
provides a lamb, to be offered as holocaust instead of the son. The lamb
descends from heaven and takes upon himself the death of man; the lamb is
sacrificed so that the son may live.
In the Book of Exodus, in chapter 12,
the Pascal Lamb is offered, a lamb without blemish, perfect; His blood, which
will be poured, will save the sons from the exterminator, who goes from house
to house, during the night. From that moment, every son of God will remain
signed and sealed by that blood of salvation. The way is opened to freedom, the
way of exodus, to go to God and to enter into the land promised by Him.
The element of sacrifice, of the
slaughter, of the total gift, constantly accompanies the figure of the lamb.
The books of Leviticus and Numbers continually place before us this holy
presence of the lamb. He is offered every day in the daily holocaust. He is
sacrificed in all the sacrifices of expiation, of reparation, of
sanctification.
The Prophets also speak about a lamb
prepared for the sacrifice: a mute sheep, sheared without opening its mouth,
like a tame and meek lamb led to the slaughter (Is 53:7; Jer 11:19). The Lamb
sacrificed on the altar every day.
In the Gospel, it is John the Baptist
who announces and identifies Jesus as the true Lamb of God, who takes upon
himself the sin of man and cancels it by the shedding of His precious and pure
blood. In fact, He is the Lamb sacrificed in the place of Isaac. He is the Lamb
roasted in the fire on the Pascal night. He is the perennial sacrifice to the
Father, offered for us. He is the suffering servant, who does not rebel
himself, does not recriminate, but surrenders himself silently out of love for
us.
Saint Peter says this openly: “You have
been liberated from the futile way of your life thanks to the precious blood of
Christ, like the lamb, without blemish and spotless”. (I Pt 1:19).
The Apocalypse reveals openly all things
concerning the Lamb. He is the one who can open the seals of history, of the
life of every man, of the hidden heart, of truth (Ap 7:1-12; 8:1); He is the
one who obtained victory, the one sitting on the throne (Rev 5, 6). He is the
king, worthy of honor, praise, glory, adoration (Rev 5:12). He is the spouse
who invites us to His wedding banquet (Rev 19:7). He is the lamp (Rev 23), the
temple (Rev 21-22), the place of our eternal dwelling. He is the Shepherd
(Rev 7:17) whom we shall follow wherever He goes (Rev 14:4).
b) To see:
Expressions concerning seeing are
repeated five times. The first one is John, who already has the eye accustomed
to see at a depth and recognize the Lord who passes by. He had to render
witness to the light and for this reason has the eyes enlightened from within.
In fact, near the Jordan River, he sees the Spirit coming down on Jesus (Mt
3:16); he recognizes Him as the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29) and continued to fix His
look (v. 36) on Him to indicate Him to His disciples. If John sees in this way,
if he is capable of penetrating beyond appearances, it means that he had
already been joined by the loving look of Jesus. He had been enlightened before
in the same way we are. In v. 38 it is said that Jesus sees the disciples
who follow Him and the Evangelist uses a very beautiful verb, which means “to
fix the look on someone, to look penetratingly and intensely”. The Lord truly
does this with us. He turns towards us, gets close to us, takes to heart our
presence, our life, our path following Him, and looks at us, for a long time,
above all, with love, intensely involving himself. His look never leaves us
alone. His eyes are fixed within us. They are designed within us as Saint John
of the Cross sings in his Spiritual Canticle.
And then the Lord invites us, in turn,
to open the eyes, to begin to see in a true way. He says: “Come and see”. Every
day He repeats this to us without getting tired of addressing this tender and
strong invitation, overflowing with promises and with gifts. “They saw where He
was dwelling” John points out, using a different verb which indicates seeing
profoundly, which goes beyond superficiality. It enters in understanding,
knowledge, and in the faith of what one sees. The disciples – and we with them
– saw that afternoon where Jesus dwelt. They understood and knew that His true
dwelling place is not a place or a space.
Lastly, we have the same verb as in the
beginning. Jesus fixes His look on Simon (v. 42) and with that light, with that
encounter of eyes, of souls, He calls him by name and changes his life and
makes him a new man. The eyes of the Lord are also open in this same way on us
and they wash us from the ugliness of our darkness, enlightening us with love.
With those eyes He is calling us, making a new creation of us. He is saying:
“May there be light”, and there was light.
c) To remain – to dwell
This is another very important verb,
very strong, and another precious pearl of the Gospel of John. It is repeated three
times, with two different meanings: to dwell and to remain. The disciples
immediately ask Jesus where He dwells, where is His house, and He invites them
to go, to enter, and to remain: “They remained with Him that day” (v. 39). It
is not a physical, temporary remaining. The disciples are not only guests
passing by who will leave soon. No, the Lord makes space for us in His interior
place, in His relationship with the Father, and there He accepts us for always.
He says: “Like You Father, are in Me and I in You, may these also be in us... I
in them and You in Me...” (Jn 17:21-23). He allows us to enter and He also
enters. He allows us to knock and He himself knocks. He makes us dwell in Him
and puts His dwelling place in us together with the Father (Jn 14:23). Our call
to be disciples of Christ and to announce Him to our brothers and sisters has
its origin, its foundation, its vitality, in this reality of the reciprocal
dwelling of the Lord in us and we in Him. Our true and lasting happiness
springs from the realization of our remaining in Him. We have seen where He
dwells, we have known the place of His presence and we have decided to remain
with Him, today and always.
“Remain in Me and I in You... The one
who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit... If you remain in Me and My
words remain in you, ask for anything that you want and it will be given to
you... Remain in My love” (Jn 15).
No, I will not go with anybody else, I
will not go anywhere else but only with You, Oh Lord, my dwelling, my place of
salvation! Allow Me, I pray, that I may remain here, near You, always, Amen.
6. A moment of prayer: Psalm 34
Refrain: Your face, Lord, I
seek, do not hide Your face from me.
I seek Yahweh and He answers me,
frees me from all my fears.
Fix your gaze on Yahweh and your face will grow bright,
you will never hang your head in shame.
A pauper calls out and Yahweh hears,
saves him from all his troubles.
The angel of Yahweh encamps around those who fear Him,
and rescues them.
frees me from all my fears.
Fix your gaze on Yahweh and your face will grow bright,
you will never hang your head in shame.
A pauper calls out and Yahweh hears,
saves him from all his troubles.
The angel of Yahweh encamps around those who fear Him,
and rescues them.
Taste and see that Yahweh is good.
How blessed are those who take refuge in Him.
Fear Yahweh, you his holy ones;
those who fear Him lack for nothing.
Young lions may go needy and hungry,
but those who seek Yahweh lack nothing good.
Come, my children, listen to me,
I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
How blessed are those who take refuge in Him.
Fear Yahweh, you his holy ones;
those who fear Him lack for nothing.
Young lions may go needy and hungry,
but those who seek Yahweh lack nothing good.
Come, my children, listen to me,
I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
The eyes of Yahweh are on the
upright,
his ear turned to their cry.
They cry in anguish and Yahweh hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
Yahweh is near to the broken-hearted,
he helps those whose spirit is crushed.
Though hardships without number beset the upright,
Yahweh brings rescue from them all.
his ear turned to their cry.
They cry in anguish and Yahweh hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
Yahweh is near to the broken-hearted,
he helps those whose spirit is crushed.
Though hardships without number beset the upright,
Yahweh brings rescue from them all.
7. Final Prayer
Father, I thank You for having given me
the presence of Your Son Jesus in the luminous words of this Gospel; thank You
for having made me listen to His voice, for having opened my eyes to recognize
Him; thank You for having placed me on the way to follow Him and to enter into
His house, Thank You because I can dwell with Him, in Him and because He dwells
in You, You are in me. Thank You for having, once more, called me, making my
life new. Make of me, I beg You, an instrument of Your love; that I may never stop
announcing Christ who comes; that I may not be embarrassed, that I do not close
myself, do not give up, but always become happier, to lead to Him, to You, the
brothers and sisters whom You, every day, make me encounter. Amen.
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