Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified."
Now the Lord, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, says to bring Jacob again to him, and to gather Israel to him, for I am honorable in the Lord's eyes, and my God has become my strength. Indeed, he says, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth."
He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.
Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, and doesn't respect the proud, nor such as turn away to lies.
Then I said, "Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll. I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart."
I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart." I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, Lord, you know.
I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great assembly.
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the assembly of God which is at Corinth — those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.' I didn't know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water, that he would be revealed to Israel." John testified, saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. I didn't recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."
What strikes me most about John the Baptist's declaration is how he had to wait to truly *see* Jesus, even though Jesus was right there in front of him. John says twice, "I didn't know him" – and this is Jesus' own cousin! Sometimes the most important recognitions in our lives require a moment of divine revelation, a Spirit descending like a dove to help us see what was always there.
The readings today are all about calling and recognition. Isaiah speaks of being called to be "a light to the nations" – not just for one tribe or people, but for everyone. Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are "called saints," not because they've earned it, but because God has chosen them. And John recognizes Jesus as the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
What I find beautiful here is that these callings aren't reserved for the obviously holy. The Corinthians were a messy bunch – Paul's letters make that clear. Yet they were still "sanctified in Christ Jesus." John needed divine help to recognize his own Savior. Even the great prophet Isaiah had to learn that his mission was bigger than he first imagined.
This gives me hope on ordinary Wednesday afternoons when I wonder if I'm really living up to my calling, whatever that might be. We're all called saints, Paul tells us – not because we're perfect, but because we're loved. Like John, we need the Spirit's help to recognize Jesus in our daily encounters: in the coworker who annoys us, in the family member who challenges us, in the stranger who needs our attention.
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is still walking among us, still revealing himself to those with eyes to see.
Who in your life might you be missing because you need the Spirit's help to truly see them? What would change if you believed you really are called to be a saint?