My Sunday Daily Blessings, January 19, 2014

My Sunday Daily Blessings

 

Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here, loving you, talking to you.............

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar)

First Reading: 1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1

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

"Here I am Lord I come to do your will." 

Second Reading: 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.

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.”

Meditation: 

John calls Jesus the Lamb of God and thus signifies Jesus' mission as the One who redeems us from our sins. The blood of the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12) delivered the Israelites in Egypt from death. The blood of Jesus, the true Passover Lamb who offered his life up for us on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 Corinthians 5:7), delivers us from everlasting death and destruction. It is significant that John was the son of a priest, Zachariah, who participated in the daily sacrifice of a lamb in the temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29). In Jesus he saw the true and only sacrifice which delivers us from sin.

When John says he did not know Jesus he was referring to the hidden reality of Jesus divinity. But the Holy Spirit in that hour revealed to John Jesus' true nature, such that John bore witness that this is the Son of God. How can we be certain that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of God? The Holy Spirit makes Christ known to us through the gift of faith. God gives us freely of his Spirit that we may comprehend the great mystery and plan of God to unite all things in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:10). Do you seek to grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ?

Prayer: 

"Lord Jesus Christ, fill me with the power of your Holy Spirit and let me grow in the knowledge of your love and truth. Let your Spirit be aflame in my heart that I may know and love you more fervently and strive to do your will in all things."

 

 

Amen.

Source: 

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

**Don Schwager

Author and Writer

Editor of Living Bullwark

Member of the Servants of the Word