2ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

1st Reading               Isaiah 49:3, 5-6

Psalm                          40:2 & 4ab, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10 (R. 8a & 9a)

R:// "See, I have come, Lord, to do your will"

2nd Reading             1 Corinthians 1:1-3

Gospel                        John 1:29-34

LIGHT THE WORLD

Friends, Peace and Goodness! After the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we return to the Season of Ordinary Time. This is the first part. Today, we are ushered into the second week of Ordinary Time. Let us take a quick dive into the readings. 

The first reading is from Isaiah 49:3,5-6. It is the Second Song of Isaiah. To unpack the text, I suggest we put the text within context. 

Realise that our text is from Isaiah 49. Isaiah is popularly divided into three parts. The first part, known as First Isaiah (or Proto-Isaiah, Chapters 1-39), deals with the nation Israel in captivity under the Assyrian empire. The second part, Deutero-Isaiah, Chapters 40-55, concerns the return from exile in Babylon. This section is also called the book of Consolation or Comfort. Our text falls within this space. In fact, it is at the heart of Second Isaiah, precisely chapter 49. The author tells the Second Servant Song. That begs the question: "Who is the Servant?"

The first reading begins by stating the identity and mission of the servant. Let us deal with the identity of the Servant. Isaiah 49:3 calls the Servant "Israel", thus, "You are my servant, Israel". This is a nation. On the first level, the Servant is a nation. However, there is a shift. The first is that in stating the mission of the Servant, the Servant is to bring Israel back to God (Isa. 49:5). A nation cannot logically "bring itself back" to itself. To solve this, the servant, on a second level, is a person who embodies the ideal of Israel. What Israel could not do, that person does. That is the true Israel. That is the individual called the Servant. 

The first thing that the Servant will do is to bring Israel back to God. That is a national restoration. The Servant, by his life and example, has a mission to restore Israel. We could see this as a too restricted mission. There is a more open dimension to the Servant's mission. 

The Servant is not only to restore Israel. Thus, "‘It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel" (Isa. 49:6). The Servant also had a mission towards the nations. Thus, "I will make you the light of the nations" (Isa. 49:6). 

The implication is sure. It is that the salvation of the world is at the heart of its Creator. God desires to save the whole world. For us, we are often tempted to think that what we are and have is for ourselves. What we are and what we have are for all. Grace is given us to be shared, not to be hoarded. The Jews in Babylon were focused on their own survival. Isaiah 49 tells them that their restoration is not just for their own sake; they are being restored so that through them (or through their representative Servant), the whole world will know God. Let us pay close attention to what we do and say. Others depend on our restoration to get to know God. 

The Gospel passage is from John 1:29-32. It is the episode of John the Baptist, among many other things, pointing out Jesus as the Lamb of God and identifying him as the Messiah by means of the one baptising with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit coming down and resting on him. But, let us first see how the 1st Reading (Isaiah 49:3,5-6) links the Gospel passage (John 1:29-32). 

The first thing we should notice is that the Servant of Isaiah has a mission to the nations. This is a wider missionary dimension. John says that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He did not say "sin of Israel or of the Jews" but "of the world". In fact, the Greek word used by John is "kosmos". Within context, this is a world as opposed to God. In fact, in Isaiah, the nations (or Gentiles) referred to are rendered in Hebrew as GOYIM. These are nations hostile to the Jews.

Notice also that the Servant of Isaiah is to be a light that that is seen by all. In the Gospel passage, John the Baptist publicly cried out, saying "Behold" (Look! See!). 

What about Jesus? Notice the first thing that John the Baptist says about him. Thus, "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". Why refer to him as a Lamb? That draws on a deep connection again to Isaiah. The Servant describes himself as a Lamb led to the slaughter (Isa. 53:7). We shall see Jesus as the Servant, the embodiment of Israel, the true Israel (CCC 601–603). Apart from noticing that the Lamb takes away the sin of the WORLD, with the world referring to he world as opposed to God (John 3:19; 7:7; 15:18–19), including the world in a state of rebellion against God, choosing darkness over light, we should also attempt looking at Jesus as a Lamb. Let us consider only two of the images of Lamb as used by John the Baptist and what his contemporaries would understand it to be.

The first is that of what is referred to as TAMID (Continual offering). Two unblemished lambs were offered daily in the Temple (Exod 29:38–42; Num 28:3–8). One is offered at dawn (or morning) and one at twilight (evening). They were offered as perpetual burnt offering. John the Baptist, as the son of a priest, would have been well acquainted with Temple sacrifice. Jesus is identified as the true, perfect, and perpetual sacrifice that all those offerings foreshadowed. In fact, the pointer that the lambs were offered in the morning and evening marked time. What it means for us should be that symbolically, the morning and evening sacrifice points to Christ as Lord of all time (Rev 1:8; Heb 13:8).

The second image is the Passover Lamb (Exod 12). The blood of the Passover Lamb saved the Israelites from death in Egypt. This symbolized liberation from slavery, sin, fear, and death (John 19; 1 Cor 5:7). Remember that we read from Isaiah 49, which speaks about restoration from exile in Babylon. The first mission of the Servant is to restore Israel back to God. Here we have Jesus, the Lamb of God, who's blood will restore the whole world, the "kosmos", the rebellious people who live in darkness, back to God. 

God desires the salvation of all (1 Tim 2:4), though each person must freely respond. You are part of something incredible. God's plan of salvation is bigger than you, your community, or even your wildest dreams. It is for the entire world. The Servant's mission was to restore Israel and be a light to nations, and Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes it to the next level, taking away the sin of the world. Your restoration, your salvation, is not just for you; it is for everyone. You are called to share this amazing gift. Thus, to let your light shine so others can see God's love. Keep shining bright. Others are depending on you to get to know God.

Pax et Bonum