Year A

Jan 14 2025

Scripture Study for

Isaiah speaks about the reversal of the fortunes of Israel; the former times of hardship are contrasted with the present experience of salvation. The nation had been overrun by foreigners, but now that the land has been returned to Israel, the hardships that accompanied defeat and occupation have been lifted and the darkness is dispelled. The darkness included social disintegration, political col

lapse, and religious devastation. The reversal of fortunes is characterized by light. Salvation came when God dispelled the darkness and burst upon the land with the brightness of shining light. Truly the fortunes have been reversed, and the saving grace of God has taken over the world.

The Corinthian church was rife with bickering and pettiness. The natural differences that existed in the group had degenerated into rivalry. If left unchecked this rivalry could develop into serious divisions, even schism. In his appeal for unity, Paul addresses the Corinthians as brothers (and sisters), indicating that he considers them as companion members of the Christian community. Groups within the community claimed allegiance to various individuals. Paul insists that since Christ cannot be divided, neither the teachings nor the personal characteristics of religious leaders can be allowed to rival their allegiance to Christ.

John’s imprisonment signaled both the end of his ministry and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It was not Jesus’ intent to pick up where John left off. Although he preached the same repentance as did the Baptist, he did it in fulfillment of the prophecies rather than in anticipation of a future event as John did. His first move was to call some followers. Two sets of brothers—Simon and Andrew, James and John—were called away from their occupation. It should be noted that these men were called; they did not initiate their own discipleship, as followers of rabbis normally did. The reign of God had come. The newly called disciples were witnesses of its appearance.

Jan 14 2025

Our Holiness

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means to learn from him. He is the teacher, we the students; he is the master, we his servants. But what is it we are to learn? One important title for Jesus is the Lamb of God who has come to serve by taking away our sin. He serves by leading us to participate in the holiness of God. We are to do the same for others.

Jesus came to understand his own calling by reading and praying the book of the prophet Isaiah, especially the four poems found there called the Servant Songs. Today we hear part of the second song in which the servant professes how he was formed as servant from the womb, not only to bring back Israel to God, but to be a light to the nations, so God’s “salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

Those who serve Jesus as disciples are to join in this work of bringing God’s salvation to the world. Paul recognizes this in his greeting to the Corinthians, noting his call to be an apostle of Christ, one sent by God to the church at Corinth, which has been made holy in Christ and called to be holy. Paul is sent not only to them, but to “all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:2).

God’s will is our holiness. By responding to the call to know Jesus as the Lamb of God, we accept the invitation to participate in this holiness and become the vehicle for inviting others to dwell there.

Consider/Discuss

Do you believe that you are called to holiness? What does this mean? How do you respond to this call?
Does your call to be a disciple lead you to pray for the world to grow in holiness?

Responding to the Word

When at Mass, we call on Jesus several times as the Lamb of God—at the beginning in the Gloria and twice in preparation for Communion. Pray for our world this day to recognize Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Jan 13 2025

Scripture Study for

The first reading is taken from the second “servant song” of Isaiah. The servant has been called to bring the people back to God. However, this mission has been expanded to include all people. This servant is to be a light to all the nations. It is noteworthy that a people struggling with its own survival because of its defeat by a more powerful nation should envision its God as concerned with the salvation of all, presumably even the nation at whose hands it suffered. Yet this is precisely what “light to the nations” suggests.

Paul begins his letter to the Corinthians by identifying himself as an apostle, one sent by another with a commission. He was called to be an apostle; he did not volunteer. Therefore, as an apostle, it is the authority of Christ that he exercises. He maintains that all of this transpired because it was God’s will. In a very real sense, this official greeting is really a proclamation of faith on Paul’s part. Just as he had been called to be an apostle, so the members of the Corinthian church had been called to be holy.

The scene portrayed in today’s Gospel reading is familiar to many of us. It includes the report of the baptism of Jesus and the Baptist’s identification of Jesus as Lamb of God. John did not know Jesus. He only recognized him through divine revelation. John then contrasts the person of Jesus and himself, as well as the efficacy of their respective baptisms. Jesus may have come after John, but he ranks far above him. And their baptisms are very different. John baptized with water. Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit John saw descend on Jesus at the time of his baptism. This led John to testify to his belief in Jesus as the Son of God. These comparisons and this testimony point to Jesus as Son of God.

Jan 13 2025

Born to Serve

A favorite plot is the rags-to-riches story, the adversity-to-triumph story, the weakling-who-becomes-strong story. It touches on our hope for personal transformation, for a change for the better. We find it in fairy tales like Cinderella, in novels like David Copperfield, and in movies like Star Wars.

This is not, however, the plot we get in the Jesus story. Jesus, who starts out in Bethlehem wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, then grows up not to become the Messiah that Israel had hoped for—the strong warrior king who would restore the nation of Israel to the glory it had under King David. Instead, he grows up to become one who suffers for our sakes, who empties himself, who con

siders himself a servant—and calls on all who follow him to do the same. On this final Sunday of the Christmas season, the Church celebrates the baptism of Jesus, an event that identifies him as the servant described by Isaiah, who comes in gentleness, breaking no bruised reed, quenching no smoldering wick. No shouting, no crying out, no making his voice heard in the streets. Rather, he will open eyes and hearts, release from confinement, and deliver from the dungeon’s darkness.

The agenda was fairly simple, as Peter points out when preaching in the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius: Jesus went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil. He came not to be served but to serve. And this is what he asks of us.

Consider/Discuss

Why do we end the Christmas season with the celebration of Jesus’ baptism?
Do you think of your baptism as committing you to a life of service?

Responding to the Word

At our baptism, we became God’s adopted sons and daughters. We pray to God as beloved sons and daughters, asking that God will be “well pleased” with us, and that God will direct us in the way of serving the needs of others so that we may “do good” and bring healing to a wounded world.

Jan 13 2025

Scripture Study for

The reading from Isaiah is the first of four passages traditionally known as the “servant songs.” Most significant in this description of the servant is his endowment with God’s own spirit. Earlier Israelite leaders—the judges, kings, and prophets—were thought to have been seized by the spirit, thus empowering them to act within the community in some unique fashion. The servant will exercise justice, but not the harsh, exacting kind. Instead, it will be gentle and understanding, willing to wait for the establishment of God’s universal rule. This justice will not compound the distress of an already suffering people. Rather, it will be a source of consolation.

Acts of the Apostles describes a scene that took place in the house of Cornelius, a newly converted Roman centurion. Normally, an observant Jew like Peter would not enter the home of a Gentile. The first words of his discourse (“I see that God shows no partiality”) indicate that he was not always open to association with Gentiles as he is now (Acts 10:34). It was a newly gained insight about God that changed his view of those who did not have Jewish ancestry. Peter came to see that God shows no partiality, and Christ is Lord of all. The message of peace given initially to Israel now includes the Gentiles as well.

The Gospel reading opens with a statement about Jesus’ leaving the familiarity and security of his home in Galilee and journeying to the Jordan River where John was baptizing. There is no description of the actual baptism, but we do have an account of what happened afterwards: the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended. The Trinitarian scene is completed with the voice from heaven identifying Jesus as “Son.” The words spoken combine an allusion to the “servant of the Lord” (see Isaiah 42:1) and the enthronement of the messianic king. He will accomplish this as “servant of the Lord.”