Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, and on this first Sunday after the Christmas season we have heard of the words of the Lord calling on each one of us as Christians, as His followers and His disciples to do His will and to carry out the missions and respective opportunities, responsibilities and things that He has entrusted to us all in our various areas of life, be it as members of the ordained, the bishops, priests and the deacons, as well as members of the laity, in our various responsibilities and areas of concern, as those whom God had called to live our lives worthily, in loving those whom He has given and entrusted to us to love, as He has planned it all.

In our first reading this Sunday, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah we heard of the words of the Lord speaking to His people regarding the prophecy about the coming of the servant of God that would bring about the proclamation of the salvation of not just Israel but the whole world, and this prophecy in fact referred to the coming of St. John the Baptist, the one who was the one to prepare the coming of the Messiah or the Saviour of the world. And just as prophesied by Isaiah, this man of God, St. John the Baptist would be prepared from the womb of his mother to become the servant of God, to be the one to prepare the way for Saviour, as he would eventually do, as the one to call on the people of God to repentance and reconciliation with Him.

And through what St. John the Baptist had done, throngs of people came to seek the Lord with renewed faith and conviction to walk in His path, giving themselves to be baptised and at the same time committing themselves to a renewed path of redemption. He had indeed committed himself to the mission he has been entrusted with, allowing God to inspire and lead him in the difficult journey to turn back the hearts and minds of the people of God back towards Him. And at the same time, St. John the Baptist also had the great humility in him, knowing that whatever he had done, all the successes and fame he attained, they were all for the greater glory of God and not for his own personal glory and ambitions.e s

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of the beginning of the letter or the Epistle which St. Paul wrote to the people of God in the city of Corinth, one of the larger cities in Greece where at that time a community of early Christians had been formed, and more and more people came to know of the Lord and becoming disciples and followers of Christ. He greeted those who have been his collaborators in the works of evangelisation and mission in the region, and he also reminded the faithful of what they all have been called to do, to be the ones whom the Lord had sanctified and made holy, and hence, in all of their works and actions in life, they all should always be anchored in their faith in God and show their faith through their lives lived in accordance with the will of God and His teachings.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage this Sunday from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle, we are reminded of the time when St. John the Baptist, the one whom we have been discussing about in our first reading earlier, as he spoke to his disciples and followers, testifying about the experiences he had in encountering the One Whom the Lord had sent him to prepare the way for, that is Jesus, Who happened to be St. John’s own relative, as their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth were also related to each other. It was at that occasion in which St. John the Baptist spoke about this great Saviour, the One Who had been promised, the Lamb of God, Who has been sent into this world to bring about its salvation and deliverance.

St. John the Baptist himself was very famous and renowned, with many people seeking him for his baptism, and he could very well have declared that he was indeed the Messiah that God had promised and sent to be with His people, and yet, he did not do that, and instead, he humbled himself as the servant, guiding his own disciples and the people to the One that they themselves ought to follow, the One in Whom the salvation of the whole world has been made manifest and real, the fulfilment of God’s long promised love and compassion for all of His people. St. John the Baptist is the role model for all of us, God’s faithful, in doing God’s will and in striving our best not for our own glory and ambition, but for the greater glory of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed throughout these passages from the Sacred Scriptures, it is clear that all of us as Christians are reminded of our own respective missions and callings in life, in whatever it is that we can do, in all the opportunities that God has given us, we should always do our best to carry out within our means, even in small and simple actions, things that can inspire others to follow the Lord, to testify all the great things that God had done for us, even in small things, in His faithfulness and in all the love He has constantly shown us all these while. In our shining and most genuine faith, God will be manifested ever more strongly in this world, and everyone who sees our brilliant faith, made evident through our lives and actions, will also come to believe in God as well.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to strengthen each and every one of us in faith, so that in everything that we do, we will always show forth the true faith that we have in Him, and that we may illuminate the path of others through our own good examples and inspirations, so that by our dedication and commitment, by our perseverance to live righteously even through our own imperfect lives and sinful existence, we will strive to be good Christians at all times, and may inspire many more people to come and seek the Lord and His truth, and that by our lives, as small and insignificant it may seem to be, many more people may be saved through us. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.