We begin Ordinary Time in our church. Liturgical Cycle as of last Monday, January 11, 2021. So today we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time.
The Ordinary Time readings reflect on the life of Jesus. Readings are from the writings of the Apostles and the Old and New Testament. It is referred to as Ordinary Time because it is outside of the major celebratory cycles of the year. It is also because it is accounted or numbered in the ordinary way...the 5th or 21st Sunday, etc. We will shortly begin our Lent/Easter cycle on Ash Wednesday.
Our first reading this weekend is from the Old Testament, the Book of Samuel. Prophets are called in some way by God. Many are hesitant to respond. Samuel from his birth was dedicated to God and very disposed to his service. However, it took three tries for God to get through to Samuel. The high priest Eli had to help realize who was calling him. He did have the right answer with Eli’s help: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”. There are two important aspects of God’s call: first to discern what God is asking, second to listen to the voice of the Lord. Samuel is blessed by the Lord because of his humility and desire to serve. May we too be like Samuel.
Our Second reading is from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians. This early community struggled in their faith in many ways. Paul tries to address their issues. Today, he tackles the problem of immorality of the soul. We are baptized into the life of Christ. These sins hurt the very substance of that life and have no place in our lives. Paul proclaims the entire body to be a “temple of the Holy Spirit”. Our conduct should then respect who and what we are.
From our Gospel of John we hear John the Baptist testify and reveal who Jesus is, his true nature. “Behold the Lamb of God”. Jesus is the true light who has come into the world. He begins to gather his Apostles for the task at hand and the work that is to come for the conversion of all people. Let us all put our faith and trust in the Lord and follow him.
