Thursday, January 12, 2017

Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 15, 2017: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory...

Are you a vehicle for God’s glory?

   When, in John’s Gospel, John the Baptist cries, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, he is serving as God’s messenger, giving voice to the revelation that is Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God.  As a prophet, John the Baptist has been attentive to hearing God, his ears open to obedience, as Psalm 40 suggests; it is to John that God has revealed his glory – I have seen and testified, John states.  John is thus fulfilling the duty set out by the prophet Isaiah:  You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory… I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. 

   In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul recognizes a similar vocation:  he is called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.  God works through Paul as he worked through John the Baptist; Paul is another light to the nations, bringing the good news of salvation to all.  But Paul takes this message one step farther:  he reminds the Corinthians that they have been sanctified in Christ; baptized in him, they are called to be united in him, to find common ground in Christ Jesus.  And therefore, like it or not, they are meant to manifest the Body of Christ in the world.  In other words, they are to reveal God’s presence on earth in all that they do and all that they are.  

   Truth be told, we are called to do no less:  we must remain open to the God’s Word, allowing God to work in us, embracing our own role as messenger, and serving as a vehicle for the revelation of Christ in the world.

How might you reveal the glory of God to the world today?

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle

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