The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the transformation we are called to engage in our mission to witness to love and peace for all.
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah presents the Servant of the Lord so that ‘salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’
* [49:3] Israel: the servant is identified with the people of Israel as their ideal representative; however, vv. 5–6 seem to distinguish the servant from Israel.
* [49:6] The servant’s vocation extends beyond the restoration of Israel in order to bring the knowledge of Israel’s God to the rest of the earth; cf. Lk 2:32. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 49, n.d.)
Psalm 40 is thanksgiving for Deliverance and a Prayer for help.
* [Psalm 40] A thanksgiving (Ps 40:2–13) has been combined with a lament (Ps 40:14–17) that appears also in Ps 70. The psalmist describes the rescue in spatial terms—being raised up from the swampy underworld to firm earth where one can praise God (Ps 40:2–4). All who trust God will experience like protection (Ps 40:5–6)! The Psalm stipulates the precise mode of thanksgiving: not animal sacrifice but open and enthusiastic proclamation of the salvation just experienced (Ps 40:7–11). A prayer for protection concludes (Ps 40:12–17). (Psalms, PSALM 40, n.d.)
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians is a particular greeting and salutation.
* [1:1–9] Paul follows the conventional form for the opening of a Hellenistic letter (cf. Rom 1:1–7), but expands the opening with details carefully chosen to remind the readers of their situation and to suggest some of the issues the letter will discuss.
* [1:1] Called…by the will of God: Paul’s mission and the church’s existence are grounded in God’s initiative. God’s call, grace, and fidelity are central ideas in this introduction, emphasized by repetition and wordplays in the Greek. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
The Gospel of John presents John the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus as the Lamb of God.
* [1:29] The Lamb of God: the background for this title may be the victorious apocalyptic lamb who would destroy evil in the world (Rev 5–7; 17:14); the paschal lamb, whose blood saved Israel (Ex 12); and/or the suffering servant led like a lamb to the slaughter as a sin-offering (Is 53:7, 10).
* [1:30] He existed before me: possibly as Elijah (to come, Jn 1:27); for the evangelist and his audience, Jesus’ preexistence would be implied (see note on Jn 1:1).
* [1:31] I did not know him: this gospel shows no knowledge of the tradition (Lk 1) about the kinship of Jesus and John the Baptist. The reason why I came baptizing with water: in this gospel, John’s baptism is not connected with forgiveness of sins; its purpose is revelatory, that Jesus may be made known to Israel.
* [1:32] Like a dove: a symbol of the new creation (Gn 8:8) or the community of Israel (Hos 11:11). Remain: the first use of a favorite verb in John, emphasizing the permanency of the relationship between Father and Son (as here) and between the Son and the Christian. Jesus is the permanent bearer of the Spirit. (John, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
Joan Blandin Howard doesn’t think that in Ordinary Time ( comes from the Latin “Tempus per annum, or time through the year”. ) we are meant to go back to, but to heed God’s invitation to move forward, to move into. In today’s reading from Isaiah, “…it is too little for you to be my servant…I will make you a light to the nations…” We are not servants, but carriers of Christ’s light into the world. We are meant to be more, to do more. A directive, an encouragement, an invitation we hear repeated numerous times in the gospels. In the melody of the psalm we respond, “Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.”
What am I to do? I desire to listen more closely for the Spirit and to trust. To respond clearly and honestly, “I am here Lord”. To act in faith. I desire not to be who I once was, but to recognize the presence of the Spirit in me, with me, in others, in nature and in all expressions of life – even if it is hard to swallow. Following the seasons of Advent and Christmas, and Lent and Easter we are meant to appreciate, enjoy and to live into the graces and gifts of those seasons. Not an Ordinary Time…
An Extra-Ordinary Time! (Howard, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “John points to Jesus' saving mission,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"No longer does John need to 'prepare the way,' since the one for whom the preparation was being made is right there before his eyes... But now he who of old was dimly pictured, the very Lamb, the spotless Sacrifice, is led to the slaughter for all, that he might drive away the sin of the world, that he might overturn the destroyer of the earth, that dying for all he might annihilate death, that he might undo the curse that is upon us... For one Lamb died for all (2 Corinthians 5:14), saving the whole flock on earth to God the Father, one for all, that he might subject all to God." (excerpt from the COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.1) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 1:29-34 comments that contemplating Jesus as the Lamb of God gives us an infinite number of reasons to worship him. We can praise him for delivering us from enslavement to sin. We can ponder what he silently bore to redeem us. We can bow to him as the perfect sacrifice, provided for us by God himself. Jesus is so much bigger, so much more committed to us, so much more glorious in his mercy than we could ever imagine!
At Mass today, we will be invited to “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” How happy we are to be called to his supper, to behold him and to receive him in the Eucharist!
“Lord Jesus, Lamb of God, I worship you!” (Meditation on John 1:29-34, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler underlines the thrust of the passage in Isaiah that the Suffering Servant is to bring the light of love to all the nations. The vices and cosmopolitan character of the port city of Corinth resulted in as many as four letters from Paul that are phrased with consideration of the overemphasis of Greek culture on the spiritual over the material. Friar Jude reminds us of the dove as the symbol of love, particularly as the love between the Father and Son in the Holy Spirit that teaches us about “Abba” and prayer.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes how speaking truth to power is an essential part of the prophet’s mission. Prophets always talk about the untalkable and open a huge new area of “talkability.” For those who are willing to go there, it helps us see what we didn’t know how to see until they helped us to see it. That’s how we begin to recognize a prophet—there is this widening of seeing, this deepening of a truth that was always there.
It’s the nature of culture to have its agreed-upon lies. Culture holds itself together by projecting its shadow side elsewhere. That’s called the “scapegoat mechanism.” René Girard, Gil Bailie, and others have pointed out that the scapegoat mechanism is the subtext of the entire biblical revelation. It’s the tendency to export our evil elsewhere and to hate it there, and therefore to remain in splendid delusion. If there isn’t a willingness to be critical of our country, our institution, and ourselves, we certainly can’t be prophets. [1]
When the prophet is missing from the story, the shadow side of things is always out of control, as in much of the world today, where we do not honor wisdom or truth. (Rohr, 2019)
We ponder the image and symbol of the Lamb of God as we move forward on our journey as companions of Jesus.
References
Howard, J. B. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/011523.html
Isaiah, CHAPTER 49. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/49?3
John, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?29
Meditation on John 1:29-34. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/01/15/584826/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/1?1
Psalms, PSALM 40. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/40?2
Rohr, R. (2019, September 26). Disrupting the Status Quo. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/disrupting-the-status-quo-2023-01-15/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Behold the Lamb of God! Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jan15
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