First Reading • Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
Psalm • Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
Second Reading • 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
Gospel • John 1:29-34
This past Monday, we began the season of Ordinary Time.
The Church does not call this season “ordinary” because nothing special happens. Rather, the word comes from the Latin ordinalis, meaning “numbered.”
During this time, the Sundays are counted – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, and so on.
There are seasons in the Church year when we focus on particular events in the life of Jesus. We have just concluded the season of Christmas, celebrating His birth.
In a few months, we will enter the season of Easter, when we reflect on His passion, death, and resurrection.
Ordinary Time is the season in between, when we reflect on Jesus’ public ministry – those three years when He preached the Good News, healed the sick, cast out demons, and journeyed from Galilee to Jerusalem.
[green plant] The liturgical color for Ordinary Time is green, the color of hope and growth.
Just as nature turns green in spring, this season invites us to grow spiritually.
The seeds planted in our hearts during Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter are meant to take root and bear fruit.
Green reminds us of our hope that God’s promises will be fulfilled – both in our daily lives and ultimately when Christ comes again in glory.
There is something especially important about Ordinary Time: it is not only about what Jesus said and did, but about how we respond.
We are called not just to listen to His word, but to live it.
This season challenges us to reflect on who we are as baptized Christians and how we are to live out the gift of faith we have received.
The prophet Isaiah captures this beautifully in today’s first reading, where God says to Israel: “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
Israel was chosen not because it earned God’s favor, but because of God’s mercy and love. And God chose Israel for a purpose – not just for its own sake, but so that His salvation might reach the whole world: “I will give you as a light to the nations.”
[Candle flame] “We are not blessed for ourselves alone. Like this flame, our faith is meant to give light to others.”
That mission is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Through Him, salvation has reached every corner of the world. And now, that same mission is entrusted to us. Like Israel, we are blessed so that God can bless others through us.
The wisdom we receive from God’s word and the healing we receive through the sacraments are not meant to be kept to ourselves. Christianity is not a self-help program; it is a call to be a light for the world.
Saint Paul echoes this in today’s second reading when he reminds the Corinthians- and us – that we are “called to be saints.” To be sanctified means to be made holy. Through God’s word and the sacraments, we already share in that holiness.
But we are also called to live it out through prayer, charity, and faithful witness. Sainthood is not reserved for a few heroic figures; it is the vocation of every baptized Christian.
Finally, the Gospel presents us with Saint John the Baptist, a powerful model for the Christian life.
John understood that his life was not about himself, but about pointing others to Jesus. His mission was to prepare the way for the Lord.
That is our mission too. Holiness means moving from being self-centered to being Christ-centered.
It means making our lives about knowing Jesus and making Him known. As today’s psalm reminds us, our prayer becomes: “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”
This Ordinary Time can truly become extraordinary if we follow the examples of Isaiah, Saint Paul, and Saint John the Baptist.
By pointing others to Jesus – the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world – we bring hope, peace, and light into the lives of those we meet.
Through us, God’s love can transform hearts and, little by little, transform the world.t in the Father’s love.
