Behold the Lamb of God: Reflections on the Readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

If you haven’t already read the readings, you can find them here.

Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
Psalm 40
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
John 1:29-34

With this week’s readings we enter what is called “Ordinary Time,” although there is nothing ordinary about it. In this sense, “ordinary” comes from the fact that the Sundays are ordered in a numerical (ordinal) fashion. Last Sunday, the Baptism of the Lord, was technically the first Sunday of Ordinary Time, but it is always superseded by the celebration of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan.

The selection from Isaiah is the second of four “Servant Songs” in the book attributed to this great prophet. This servant is typically considered a foretelling of Jesus, the Messiah. And all of the readings call us to be a testimony to Him.

Jesus Himself quotes Isaiah while in the synagogue of Nazareth, saying it points to Him directly (Luke 4:18-21). It is easy to see similar relationships in today’s excerpt from Isaiah. Jesus repeatedly tells us that He has come to do the will of the Father and here Isaiah notes that the Lord “formed me [the Messiah] as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; ...” Recall that Jesus described His mission as follows, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10). Similarly, when sending the apostles out on their initial mission, they were told to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6).

Many of the prophecies of Isaiah point to Jesus. Personally I often think of Isaiah as the “Prophet of the Messiah.” The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible notes: “The character and mission of Christ are vividly portrayed in Isaiah and even His sufferings are there described, though it does not follow that those who first heard those prophecies understood all that was being said.”

The Messiah’s mission is pointed out by Isaiah, “I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Recall Jesus’ own statement concerning Himself: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

The responsorial psalm again speaks to Jesus’ mission, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” Obedience and doing the will of the Father is more important than sacrifice and offerings. True joy is in doing the will of God. “... to do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!”

As He did in the synagogue in Nazareth, “I [Jesus] announced your justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.” (Luke 4:16-21)

The second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians seems merely to be a greeting and its message seems to be lacking. However, on closer inspection we notice that it contains two of the fundamental parts of the Christian religion. Dr. Peter Kreeft explains, “The first is ‘grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,’ and the second is ‘called to be holy.’ These are the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of our whole religion – that is, our lived relationship with God.” (Kreeft, Food for the Soul, Cycle A.) Additionally, the greeting itself is one which we use regularly at the beginning of every Mass, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

During the Christmas season we learned of many of the manifestations of Jesus to the world. First, the angels told of His birth to the shepherds, accompanied with hymns of glory and praise. Then the Magi came, pronouncing His manifestation to the Gentiles as the King of the Jews. Then John the Baptist was instrumental in His manifestation as the Son of God. “After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’”

The gospel acclamation also announces the manifestation of Jesus as Savior, “The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted Him, He gave power to become children of God.” Our new role as children of God is not one to be taken lightly.

This week we get another manifestation of Jesus as Savior, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John isn’t the first to refer to the Savior as a lamb. Isaiah refers to the suffering servant as being “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7).

This selection comes after the beautiful beginning of John’s gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Here the Baptist acknowledges Jesus’ eternal existence, “A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me,” as well as John’s own mission to baptize with water “that he might be made known to Israel.” Recall the canticle of Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father) addressing John’s mission, “And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins ...” (Luke 1:76-77)

As we continue on our path in Ordinary Time, leading up to Ash Wednesday and Lent, we will encounter Jesus in many other ways. Our attendance at Mass is always an encounter with Jesus and should affect us as such. It calls for our continual inner conversion, as specified in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1888). This is what gives purpose to our lives as Christians. It is also the path to salvation.

“… truth and meaning are found only in the Lord and in a relationship with Him.” (Raymond Cardinal Burke, Hope for the World)