2nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR A - Gospel (John 1: 29-34) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- Jan 18
- 5 min read
FIRST READING - Is 49:3, 5-6
"I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
A reading from the Book of Isaiah
3 He said to me, You are my servant,
in you, Israel,[a] I show my glory.
5 For 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;
I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is now my strength!
6 It is too little, he 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.[a]
SECOND READING - 1 Cor 1:1-3
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
A reading from the Letter to the Corinthians
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,[b] and Sosthenes our brother, 2 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. 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Jn 1:29-34
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."
✠From the Gospel according to John
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God,[a] who takes away the sin of the world. 30 [b]He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not know him,[c] but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove[d] from the sky and remain upon him. 33 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.’ 34 [e]Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
2nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR A - Gospel (John 1: 29-34)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
Today's Word of God speaks of Saint John the Baptist's testimony about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came into the world and became human.
Saint John the Baptist introduces Jesus as the Lamb of God, the One who takes away the sins of the world. This testimony was proclaimed since the time of the prophet Isaiah, when he foretold a faithful servant chosen by God the Father, and also foreshadowed the event: when God saved the people from Egyptian slavery, by having each family kill an unblemished lamb to eat, and then smear the blood on the doorframe.
That was a sign to proclaim the coming of Jesus Christ: to save people from death and from Satan’s captivity, He Himself would also be a sacrificial lamb to redeem humanity from sin.
In God's plan of salvation, He too would have to undergo arduous and painful journeys: Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came into the world to become man, suffered death to atone for humanity's sins: "Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world."
Only He is the One who has the power to liberate humanity from sin and eternal death. The testimony that Saint John the Baptist left for humanity today is about Jesus Christ, the One of love. He came into the world and is among humanity. Yet many people either did not recognize Him or deliberately refused to receive Him.
The Son of God Himself suffered death to atone for the sins of humanity, and He will always be with humanity until the end of time. This death is the offering presented to God the Father in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist through the sacrifice of the daily Mass.
There is no love greater than God's, a God of love who sacrificed His life for humanity.
God the Father calls on everyone to come to the God of love, who dwells among and accompanies humanity in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Furthermore, Saint John was a prophet who testified that this is truly the Son of God, the One whom Saint John the Baptist had preceded to prepare the way for Jesus Christ to come into the world to become human; He is truly the light that is to come into the world. And Saint John was also revealed by God the Father that when the Son of God came into the Jordan River to be baptized, he saw the Spirit of the Holy Spirit come down and remain upon the Son of God.
The testimony of Saint John is a true testimony, by which God calls upon humanity to place absolute faith in Jesus Christ, the God of love.
Only He has the authority to forgive sins, only He has the power to liberate humanity from Satan’s captivity.
Furthermore, Saint John also testified that Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity who came into the world to become human, with God the Father and the Holy Spirit always present, accompanying, and being with Him in all places and at all times; and especially, in His public ministry, the Holy Trinity is always united as one to jointly save and liberate humanity from Satan’s captivity, from all sins, and from death.
Today, the true testimonies of Saint John continue to call upon everyone to place our absolute faith in God’s power and love.
Out of love for humanity, God cannot bear to abandon mankind; He seeks every way to save and liberate humanity from death, by sacrificing Himself, humbly lowering Himself to take on the human condition like everyone else, to accompany and be among sinners, to liberate us from Satan’s captivity who controls both humans souls and bodies, to free humanity from the darkness and death brought by Satan.
God the Father loves humanity, and He calls upon everyone to come to the God of love. He will heal all illnesses and infirmities of human souls and bodies. Only He alone has the authority and power to save humanity.
He alone is the sacrificial offering for the atonement offered to God the Father for all humanity, to deliver mankind from eternal death.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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