Deacon Tom Anthony

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 64

Reading 1 Is 49:3, 5-6

The LORD said to me: You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

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.

Reading 2 1 Cor 1:1-3

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Alleluia Jn 1:14a, 12a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him,
he gave power to become children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 1:29-34

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 God’s glory is shown through us. The closer we become with Him the more He can be realized and witnessed in our lives and the lives of others. As Christians, it is through God and our relationship with Him that we are able to experience true joy and live an amazing life full of promise and hope. Each day can be special in its own right. Living in the moment, each moment can become unique just as each of us is unique. Conducting ourselves rightly leads to us experiencing a life exactly the way God intended. If we truly believe that God is our Father and creator of all things then it would be prudent to listen to Him through the use of Sacred Scripture and prayer in order to strengthen our relationship with Him. Listening to the ultimate good can only lead to goodness. There is no evil or disappointment with God only perfection. When we enter into a relationship with Him we begin a journey towards perfection. We will never truly get there until we join Him in the Beatific Vision but it is the journey that matters with the experience of being formed by Him who created us. The New Israel and a new heaven and earth are realized through the formation process that we go through when we open ourselves up to Him. We become part of the process because we are part of God’s creation and are transformed along with it. Being at the pinnacle of His creation and created in His image means that whatever happens to us pours forth into His creation. We as His children become creators ourselves. With Him our capabilities are for the better while without Him they can be misused for a worse result.

Through Jesus Christ we are called to holiness. Created by God to be holy we wandered away. It is Jesus as the true Shepherd that is calling us back. Responding to this call

 brings us to Him and back into relationship with the Father. As God says in Sacred Scripture, “Be holy for I am holy.” When we start to re-establish our relationship with God these words will take on more of an importance. They are the key to true joy and a fulfilling life. Becoming holy using God as the example to go by means we have again made Him central in our lives. We will be able to feel the difference and experience living a different way that will reveal so many different things that were once hidden from us by our own selfish decisions. No longer will our lives be our own but we have given them back to God.

It can be said that we all want to live a good life. There is good in everyone. Sometimes it is hard for this goodness to shine through because of bad experiences, bad influences, and bad choices. It would behoove us to remind ourselves that no one is perfect and there is no time limit to when we can make a commitment to change and be healed from the wounds that we bear. These wounds can be physical, mental, or spiritual in nature but they all have the ability to overwhelm us and prevent us from transforming our lives. So as not to be overburdened from them we must let God heal us and teach us how not to be wounded again. At the same time we should not be resistant to the healing process. If we are we could risk being hurt again. God is the key to bring about a complete fundamental change and healing. He is the cure which will make us strong again.

What more can God offer to us? Everything is right before us for the taking if only we choose to take it. We can be assured of this by our own experiences alone. We are the ones who can provide the testimony for us and for all to hear especially in times of trial and tribulation. The best way to discover the truth is through experience and the use of all of our senses. Our experiences have made us know what a life is like without a relationship with God. It can be argued that we are somewhat of experts in that field. Now it is time to become another kind of expert. This was is one who has knowledge of God and what He has done and what He can do. The testimony of John the Baptist can become our testimony. The truths he spoke of can become the same truths that we testify to. We can become a validation of all that he professed. We follow him and then there will be others who follow us to the Greater Glory of a relationship with God.

Deacon Tom