2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); 1-15-2023

Is 49:3,5-6.  Ps 40.  1 Cor 1:1-3.  Jn 1:29-34

Deacon Jim McFadden

            We are now in Ordinary Time, where we move from being in control of our clock with all of our purposeful controlled activity, to simply hanging out with Jesus as we reflect on what it means to be his follower.    On some Sundays we will reflect on the challenges of being a disciple.  On other Sundays, such as today, we look at Jesus, just as John the Baptist did, and renew our commitment that he alone is our ultimate leader and that we are called to bear witness that He is, indeed, the long-awaited anointed One of God.

            Today’s Gospel presents us John at the very moment in which he bears witness to Jesus.  Seeing Jesus come forward to him, he says: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me’” (Jn 1:29-30).  This is the Messiah.  This is the one we’ve been waiting for all these centuries.  John bears witness to this fact.  And several disciples of John, upon hearing this testimony, left John and followed Jesus: they go after Him.  Why did they make this dramatic shift of moving from John the Baptist, who had been drawing huge crowds, to the carpenter from Nazareth?  Simply put: “We have found the Messiah” (v. 41).  They exult.  Jesus is so magnetically attractive that they felt to the very core of their being His presence which unites the divine and the human.  Notice how they encountered Jesus: they did so because John first gave witness; because there was a man that did so, that created an opportunity for them to be in relationship with Jesus.

            People of God, fast forward 2023 years: just as this happened to John the Baptist and his disciples is meant to happen to us as well.

            There are many Christians who profess that Jesus is God—at last count 2 billion people or 30% who occupy the planet.  But, how many of us give witness in the same effective way that John the Baptist did? 

            Many of us fall into a comfortable routine being a Catholic Christian.  Yes, we have right beliefs as contained in our Tradition.  Yes, we participate in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Yes, our behavior is a model of moral decorum.  Having said all of this, am I really a disciple of Jesus?  As we reflect upon the Gospel, it seems clear that being a Christian, first of all, is bearing witness to Jesus.  This is the first thing—everything else is a footnote.  This is what the Apostles did: they bore witness to Jesus.   In their very person, in their bodies, they were bearers of Jesus.  When people engaged with them, they encountered the Risen Christ.  They experienced Jesus through the assembly of the disciples.  That is why Christianity spread like wildfire throughout the Roman Empire despite intense persecution.  Eventually, Christianity spread throughout the entire world.  Why?  WITNESS!  And, you know what else the followers of Jesus did?  They were willing to sacrifice their lives for his sake.  The love they shared with Jesus was worth more than their physical lives.  This was a powerful witness; as Tertullian, an early Christian author from Carthage wrote: “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” 

            One could beg off by saying, “Oh, deacon, this isn’t for me.  I’m just a run-of-the-mill Christian; and besides that, I’m really a sinner; I’m not very holy.” Well, you know what?  We are all sinners so get over it!  But, more importantly we are forgiven sinners and despite our wounded condition—perhaps even because of it—we are all called to holiness.  The Lord is addressing this call to everyone of us.  We hear, “Be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:44; cf. 1 Pet 1:16).  2000 years later the 2^nd Vatican Council reiterated this clearly: “Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, ALL THE FAITHFUL whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord—each in his own way—to that perfect holiness by which the Father is perfect” (emphasis added).

            And, this calling is realized in our ordinary experience: in our relationships, especially in the family, in our work, in our recreation.  We are called to be holy by living our lives with love.  The love we share with Jesus, we share with others; and, in so doing, we bear witness that Jesus is Lord by everything we do, wherever we find ourselves.

            To love like Jesus is not easy because we are often weak and sinful.  But just to try to love as Jesus loves shows us, shows others, that Christ is sharing his own risen life with us.  This power is palatable and it’s contagious.  In this way our lives will demonstrate, just as it did with the Apostles, that the power, the dynamism of Jesus is at work—even in the midst of human weakness.  Amen.