THE LORD IS MY LIGHT

III SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17

This Sunday, we complete the week of prayer for Christian Unity, which was celebrated under the theme “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4). The second reading of this Sunday's liturgy, taken from 1 Corinthians, deals with the same issue and presents Paul’s worries about the divisions wrecking the community. We should be united in “belief and practice”. And, looking at ourselves, we find all kinds of divisions. There is a great divide between Catholic and Orthodox. Then we have such a variety of groups, practices and beliefs in Western Christianity that it becomes difficult to recognise Jesus Christ’s face in many of them. Looking around, we find confusion, envy and jealousy instead of unity of purpose guided by faith and love. And nowadays, the Catholic Church is falling into the same trap. We find all kinds of groups with self-appointed prophets and evil shepherds that lead people astray.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul points the way out of this problem: Christ is the centre and reason of everything. We can never forget the crucified Christ. We must put aside the cleverness of our philosophy and the cunningness of our ideologies, since everything must be measured and counted according to the cross of Jesus Christ: Paul was sent “to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.”

This Sunday, in the Catholic Church, is dedicated to the Word of God. And we are reminded that the word of Christ should dwell among us (Col 3:16). Jesus Christ is the Word, and, being the Word, he is the Light of the world, a light that dispels the darkness that blinds and enslaves us. Jesus is the word and the light that show the way and bring understanding and purpose; they fill us with hope.

Let us sing with the Psalmist: 

The Lord is my light and my help;

  whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

  before whom shall I shrink?

Psalm 27

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD

II SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - John 1:29-34

This Sunday’s readings are still connected to the celebration of the Lord’s baptism, making even more explicit the identity of the Messiah as the Servant of the Lord. The book of Isaiah presents four poetic passages about the Servant of the Lord: Isaiah 42:1–9, 49:1–7, 50:4–9, and 52:13–53:12. Last Sunday, during the Feast of the Baptism, we read the first passage; today, we read the second. He was formed in the womb and called to be a servant. He is entrusted with the mission of gathering the people of Israel and bringing them back to God. This servant is destined to be more than a servant. He will have a universal mission: “I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Is 49:6). Jesus is the one who assumed the role of a servant. He is the Light of the world (Jn 8:12), and in Him we find life and salvation.

This Sunday’s gospel develops the idea of the servant, stressing his identity and his mission. John the Baptist gives public testimony to Jesus, proclaiming him as the Lamb of God and the Son of God. He came to be the true Lamb of God, offering himself as the sacrifice of the new covenant and accepting to give his life “for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:28). In him and through him, we are reconciled to the Father. And all this is possible because he is the Chosen One, the Son of God.

In the second reading, taken from 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, Paul presents himself as an apostle appointed by God to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. He addresses the Corinthians as “the holy people of Jesus Christ”, who pray to Jesus Christ because he is their Lord and our Lord as well. It is from him that we receive “grace and peace”.

The responsorial psalm gives voice to the attitude of the servant who comes to do the will of his master:

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,

  but an open ear.

You do not ask for holocaust and victim.

  Instead, here am I. (Psalm 40)

Jesus Christ is our Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Let us live this year under his lordship.

THIS IS MY SON, THE BELOVED

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - Matthew 3:13-17

The feast of the baptism of the Lord is part of the great solemnity of Epiphany. In this feast, we are invited to reflect on Jesus’ baptism and our own baptism. Jesus’ baptism reveals the mystery of the Messiah and sets forth the profound significance of our own baptism. 

Speaking of baptism, we must realise that we were not baptised with John’s baptism. He came to baptise in water as a sign of repentance (Mt 3:11; Jn 1:26). We were baptised in Jesus Christ with the baptism of the Spirit. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that to enter the Kingdom of God, we must be “born of water and the Spirit” (Jn 3:5).

According to the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the baptism of Jesus was followed by a great theophany that revealed Jesus as the Son of God, being anointed by the Holy Spirit to carry out the Father’s plan of salvation. Jesus is the beloved Son who came into this world, taking on our human nature to reconcile us with the Father, making it possible for us to be children of God.

The second reading presents Jesus as the anointed one, that is, the Messiah or the Christ. All Jews were waiting for the coming of the Messiah. Their expectations were high: they thought of the Messiah as a king and a liberator who would overpower and defeat all those who had oppressed the people of Israel. The Messiah should have a political role, establishing a kingdom of justice and peace. They ignored or put aside the prophecies that announced a suffering servant who would carry our sins and be overburdened by our pains. In his baptism, Jesus accepts his mission and is invested in his ministry. And he will do it as the servant of the Lord announced by the prophet Isaiah.

Following Jesus’ path, in our baptism, we were anointed with the Holy Spirit, and the Father spoke over us, saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.” In baptism, we were born from above as children of God. 

Today, let us give thanks for our baptism, renewing our commitment to be faithful to Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life.

THE NATIONS COME TO YOUR LIGHT

 THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6

The Epiphany, being older than Christmas, is among the oldest feasts in the Christian calendar. On this feast, we celebrate the manifestation of Jesus as Son of God and Saviour of the world. In the Western Churches, the feast focuses on the Magi who came to Jesus and recognised him as divine. Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan and his first miracle at Cana are celebrated as an integral part of Epiphany, that is, Jesus’ manifestation to the world. In the Eastern Churches, the Epiphany focuses mainly on the baptism, in which Jesus is anointed by the Holy Spirit and recognised as the Son by the Father.

Tradition has considered the Magi to be kings, giving them names: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. Speaking of the Magi, Matthew tells us only that they came from the East. Were they kings? Probably not. For sure, we know that they were foreigners, that is, Gentiles. And those Gentiles were ready to go through great difficulties to find the Messiah and pay homage to him. And Matthew stresses the contrast between those Gentiles and the people of Jerusalem who felt threatened by a humble child. Herod was ready to deceive, hiding his murderous plan to get rid of the Child.

The Magi stand for the Gentiles – that is, for all of us who are not Jews. In this feast, Jesus is affirmed as the light of the world, who disperses the darkness of this world and overcomes the slavery of sin. Jesus came to be the Saviour of the World. And we celebrate that with a joyful heart full of thanksgiving. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul summarises the mystery celebrated in the feast of Epiphany:

“It means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.” (Ep 3:6)

With the psalmist, let us sing the praises of the Lord:

“All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.”