Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 18, 2026: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory

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 he must be; 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 “vintage” post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 14, 2024: Here I am, Lord: I come to do your will...

Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will…

Are we open to and ready to act on the Lord’s revelation? 

    When, in the First Book of Samuel, the Lord calls to Samuel, in the night, the young man assumes it is his mentor, the temple priest Eli, who is calling him. Samuel’s first response is a response, but not a focused one: Here I am!, he says. Three times Samuel responds in this way, until finally, Eli realizes that it is the Lord who is calling the young man, and instructs him on how to respond. Samuel’s fourth response demonstrates that he is focused on the Lord who is calling: Speak, your servant is listening. Samuel is not only attentive and listening to God, he is also ready to act. Like Samuel, the psalmist knows that the Lord needs more than anything our willingness to listen and to hear and to act; ears open to obedience you gave me, we hear in Psalm 40. Our ability to then give thanks is also God’s gift, a new song in our mouths, a proclamation we are to internalize first, and then proclaim to our world. Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will! 

    In John’s Gospel, John the Baptist sends his disciples to follow Jesus, the Lamb of God, the one through whom salvation will come. Like Samuel, Andrew and Simon are open to the call of Jesus, ready to listen, ready to act. They recognize something in Jesus – a revelation – and call him Rabbi as a sign of their acceptance to follow him. They are graced, and that grace is a gift, although they have a long way to go in order to come to understand who Jesus is. Their knowledge will broaden and deepen over time, as it is still broadening and deepening for us and for those around us. The revelation is still unfolding. The disciples will learn, as Paul encourages the Corinthians to learn, that they are to be members of the same Body – your bodies are members of Christ – and must recognize their connection to one another, surrendering their self-focus for the good of all. But first, they have to listen, to open their hearts and prepare to act, for the body is for the Lord. They must say, Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will! 

    Can we mark the moment God first spoke to us? Are we listening and attentive? And when called, are we ready to act? God gives us a new song, the ability to praise him and proclaim his marvelous deeds. We are called to behold the Lamb of God, the one who makes all possible in our lives – we are called to know him and to participate in his life. We are called, in short, to say, as Samuel does, as Andrew and Simon and the beloved disciple also do, Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 15, 2023: Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will...

Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will…

Are we accomplishing all that God calls us to?

    From time immemorial, God has dedicated each of his faithful ones for a purpose, forming us as his servant from the womb, as the prophet Isaiah says, that we might be the conduits for God’s action. The Second Servant Song makes it clear that it is not enough for the people of Israel to be servants: they are also to be a light to the nations, drawing all people to God at God’s own initiative, that God’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Psalm 40 reminds us that God stoops toward us and hears us, reaching down into our existence to help us, deepening our awareness of him in our every experience of his work. God then looks for praise from those who recognize what God has been about: he put a new song into my mouth, the psalmist sings, a new means by which to witness to God’s action and give thanksgiving from the heart. And so the psalmist is ready to fulfill the purpose God has set forth for him as well: Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. 

    In John’s Gospel, John the Baptist has been sent not to offer a baptism of repentance but of revelation: Behold the Lamb of God, John announces when he sees Jesus, witnessing to the revelation of the Incarnation. Jesus is the one John was sent to proclaim, Jesus, the Lamb of sacrifice, revealed by God as the one sent to bring salvation by taking our sins to death with him. Jesus is the ultimate servant, the ultimate light to the nations, calling all to his Father. Yet not all were immediately clear on the concept. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians must point out the ways in which they are falling short of accomplishing all God has called them to. Even Paul’s greeting is replete with charged meaning, somewhat hidden from us but doubtless clear to the Corinthian community: Grace to you, Paul says – may God be present in your midst – and peace, for God’s presence brings peace. It is this grace and this peace that will bring the unity in holiness to which they as a community are called, unity in Christ, men and women called to be holy. We too are called by God to be holy; each one of us is formed for a purpose known only to God. How are you going to live up to yours? 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class. 

Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 16, 2022: Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations!

Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations…

What causes you to celebrate? 

    When the exile of the people of Israel in Babylon comes to an end, do they celebrate? Cyrus the Great sends the people home, asking only that they rebuild the temple and pray that their God might favor him, but when the people arrive, they find their land is ruined and they must start to rebuild from scratch. It must have been devastating. Yet the prophet Isaiah makes it clear that vindication will come, and that which has been called desolate will be the Lord’s delight: For the Lord delights in you and makes your land his spouse. The restoration of relationship with the Lord is ample cause for celebration; God rejoices in them as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, asking only that they bind themselves to him anew, through covenant. It is indeed time to celebrate that the God of Israel is the source of all life, and to proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations, as in Psalm 96. 

    Jesus likewise comes to celebrate a new life. The story of the wedding at Cana in John’s Gospel is a joyful celebration in anticipation of the kingdom to come. The water changed into wine is no ordinary beverage; water that was originally meant to purity people for the feast has now become an extraordinary vehicle of celebration. For Jesus is God’s gift to us, the fulfillment of God’s promise and a light that reveals the glory and the kingdom of God. Here, again, God is the source of life, revealed, as Paul notes in the Letter to the Corinthians, by the Holy Spirit, and, through the gifts or charisms given to each individual, by each of us. Whether our gift be the expression of wisdom or knowledge or faith or healing or prophecy, let us recognize the work of the Spirit among us, and let celebrate all of those gifts as part and parcel of the revelation of God, source of our life and Eternal Spouse, at work in our lives! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 19, 2020: I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God...

I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God…

How does God’s message spread?

  In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord celebrates his servant, through whom God shows his glory.  The identity of the servant is not entirely stable – it seems to shift within the passage, now Israel, now a remnant of Israel, now an individual called to save Israel.  One thing is clear, though:  It is too little, the Lord tells his servant, for you to to raise up the tribes of Jacob… I will make you a light to the nations!  God’s message cannot be contained – it will spread exponentially to greater and greater groups of people.  And so, as evidence of the people’s fidelity to God is transmitted beyond the boundaries of their land, the people of Israel become a light to the world, even to the ends of the earth. 

  But for this to happen, they must first listen!  Psalm 40 tells us that the law of the Lord is in the psalmist’s heart; the psalmist is open to God, listening to God’s message, ears open to obedience, so that he can then announce the Lord’s justice with unrestrained lips.  Only careful listening can enable us to speak God’s message faithfully.

  In Jesus’ time, the Good News also spreads exponentially.  In John's Gospel, John the Baptist baptizes with water so that Jesus might be made known to Israel; his baptism of repentance serves to open people’s hearts (and ears) to receive Jesus Christ.  John testifies to the identity of Jesus as the Lamb of God, evoking all at once the passover lamb of Exodus, the suffering servant led to slaughter in Isaiah, and the victorious Lamb of Revelation; John states clearly that this Jesus is the Son of God.  The Good News spreads after Jesus’ death and rising through God’s action in the early leaders of the Church.  When Paul writes to the Corinthians on behalf of himself and Sosthenes, the message is destined to be shared with all those everywhere who all upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.  The ripple effect is clear, and we are called to be participants, as we too help to spread the Lord’s message, the Good News of salvation to all the world!

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

Image source:  www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 20, 2019: There was a wedding in Cana at Galilee...

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee…

What does our relationship with God call us to?

  In John’s Gospel, Jesus performs his first miracle (albeit reluctantly) at a wedding at Cana in Galilee, at the request of his mother, who simply states, They have no wine.  No one wants a new marriage to be marred by difficulty from day one, and so Jesus does the extraordinary:  Fill the jars with water, he tells the servers, and then, Draw some out.  The wine the headwaiter tastes is of the highest quality, a fitting tribute to the bond of souls the wedding is intended to celebrate, and a good reason to sing to the Lord, as Psalm 96 exhorts, to proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations. The miracle at Cana is a foretaste of the messianic banquet, of our ultimate union with God in heaven – and a revelation of God’s glory.

  Jesus’ marvelous deed at the wedding in Cana reminds us of the centrality of the marriage metaphor in salvation history, wherein God calls the people of Israel by a new name to celebrate a return to covenant relationship:  you shall be called My Delight and your land Espoused, Isaiah says.  It is as a marriage bond that Isaiah characterizes the relationship between God and Jerusalem, a relationship in which God shall rejoice, for it is grounded in love shared, love celebrated.

  Moreover, it is out of that bond of relationship that the Holy Spirit is able to bestow upon us all, as St. Paul tells the Corinthians, different kinds of spiritual gifts, gifts we are meant to employ to be of benefit for each other.  Remember that we are called as a church to be the Bride of Christ; Jesus loves us as a bridegroom loves his bride.  And the love he shares with us, if we are open to it, opens us further to giving in turn, using our gifts to build up each other’s lives, yet recognizing at every moment that it is God who produces all of these gifts – manifestations of the Spirit – in everyone.  It is yet another reason to proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations, as we are invited to participate in God’s extraordinary action and so embrace the identity that is ours, an identity grounded in service and love.

This post is based on notes from Fr. Pat’s 2016 homily on the readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Image source:  www.wordclouds.com