SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

18 JANUARY 2026

 

          In the first chapter of Genesis, the Hebrew text says that a “ruah” was hovering over the watery chaos.  The English translation is wind or breath or spirit.  That “ruah” is God, who has no beginning and no end.  Without beginning or end, God creates the world out of the chaos not by doing anything, but simply by speaking a word.  That word has the power to create the order of our world out of the watery chaos in the beginning.  

In the first chapter of his Gospel, Saint John tells us that Jesus Christ was present at the creation of the world.  As we heard from his Gospel on Christmas morning, the Word present at the creation of the world took on human flesh and dwells in our midst.  Today, Saint John tells us about the role of the Incarnate Word of God in a second creation.  When John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him, he recognizes the truth about Jesus and his work and understands his role in the second creation.  He sees the Spirit coming down upon him like a dove from heaven.  As the spirit of God hovered over the watery chaos, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity, hovers over Jesus as John baptizes him in the waters of the Jordan River.  God the Father, the first person of the Blessed Trinity, calls Jesus, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, his beloved Son.   

John the Baptist helps us to understand the work of this second creation by calling Jesus the “Lamb of God.”  His contemporaries would immediately understand the significance of that title.  On the night before their exodus from slavery in Egypt, Moses commanded his people to sacrifice a lamb and prepare it for a meal before they left.  He also told them to smear the blood of the lamb on their lintels.  The angel of death would pass over their homes, allowing them to pass over from slavery to freedom in the Promised Land.  At every Passover Meal, the Chosen People commemorated God’s saving action in their lives by eating a Passover lamb.  As a son of a priest, John the Baptist knew that people would bring lambs to be sacrificed at the altar in the Temple, praying that their sacrifice would bring them union with God.

By calling Jesus the Lamb of God, John the Baptist is saying that Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, will work the second creation not by doing anything dramatic, but by becoming the Lamb of God.  He will allow himself to be sacrificed out of love for us.  That loving sacrifice will bring salvation to save us from sin and death and lead us in a new exodus to the new and eternal Jerusalem.  In his Gospel, the real Lamb of God is sacrificed on a cross outside the city walls, while priests in the Temple are preparing lambs to be sacrificed for Passover meals.

We who gather at Mass today have passed through the waters of baptism.  We have been incorporated as sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters into the Body of Christ.  At this Mass, we give thanks to the Father for the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ made present on this Altar in our liturgical remembering.  We will be fed by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and sent from this Mass to continue to proclaim the truth proclaimed today by the Baptist.  As part of that second creation, we can make a difference in our world and in our local community.  Like the prophet Isaiah, we have been called by God as servants.  We not only recognize the presence of the Word made flesh dwelling in our midst, but we also recommit ourselves to living our baptismal promises.  Because of the victory of the Lamb of God, we can allow the light of his presence to shine through us. 

That is the message which Saint Paul gives to the Corinthians.  He knows the strengths and blessings of that community. He also knows of their divisions and conflicts.  He assures them that they can make a difference.  He gives us the same message.

 

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

4 JANUARY 2026

 

          The English word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word which means “to manifest.”   The Prophet Isaiah describes how God is manifesting himself.  His people have just returned from their fifty-year captivity in Babylon.  As they rebuild their temple, God’s light will shine through it, because God dwells in his holy temple.  The Lord will be the light that clarifies right paths.  Along with foreigners, wayward children will find a way home.  This light will enable them to navigate life’s hardships and obstacles as though walking on a path at midday.  They will bring wealth to God’s Holy City.  The once devastated Jerusalem now appears with joy, pride, and blessing.  The greatest wealth in that city is the Lord’s light that shines within her.

            Saint Matthew sees Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled in today’s Gospel.  Educated men from the East (magi in Greek) are attracted by a bright light in the heavens.  So, they embark on a long and difficult journey to find the source of the light in Jerusalem.  When they lose the heavenly light, the foreigners seek an audience with King Herod to find the source of the light, the newborn king of the Jews.  Herod consults the chief priests and the scribes of the people, who inform him that the magi are nine miles off.  The source of the light is born in Bethlehem.  Herod has no desire to travel nine miles to find a potential rival.  Instead, he tells the magi to search diligently for the child and to return to him, so that he could go and do homage to the child.

            Guided by the Scriptural advice of the chief priests and scribes, the magi regain the light of the star and come to the place where the real light is shining.  It is shining in a newborn child wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger.  Unlike Herod, who had absolutely no intention of venerating a potential rival, they do homage and give the infant and his parents valuable gifts.  Their gifts describe the identity of this child.  The gift of gold identifies him as a king.  Pilate will mock him and write “the king of the Jews” on the cross of his execution.  Frankincense reveals him as God.  Myrrh refers to his role as the Suffering Servant who will give his life to defeat the powers of sin and death.  His body will be anointed with myrrh when he is laid in his tomb.  We know almost nothing about these foreigners who bring lavish gifts.  We count them as three, because they give three gifts.  Later legends will give each of them a name:  Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar.  They will be told in a dream not to return to Herod.  Instead, they will depart for their country by another way.  In other words, Matthew tells us that they have been profoundly changed by their encounter with this newborn king, God, and Suffering Servant.

            We celebrate the Epiphany today to better understand the Mystery we encounter at this Season.  In the worldwide liturgical calendar, Epiphany is celebrated on January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas.  In the United States, we celebrate this Solemnity on the closest Sunday to the twelfth day of Christmas.  God has revealed to us a great light.  The Savior of the world, the Messiah, the Christ, has been born to us.  In every artistic rendering of this scene, the light is radiated from the newborn child.  In the Mystery of the Incarnation, God has taken on human flesh in Jesus Christ and has pitched his tent, dwelling in our midst.  In the darkness of our wounded and dangerous world, the Light of Christ invites us to pay homage to him, as the magi did.  We may face many obstacles in this new year.  We will endure many hardships.  But that light will enable us to walk with confidence, inviting other people to join us in our pilgrimage of faith, as we walk together to the New and Eternal Jerusalem.  The Lord invites us to bring him gifts.  We do not bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Instead, we bring the gifts of our faith, our love, and our service.  In doing so, we will allow the light of Christ to shine brightly through us, no matter how dark the world around us may be.