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.
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