Gospel & Reflection for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
John 1:29-34
At that time: John saw Jesus coming towards 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 ranks before me, because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptising with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John bore witness: ‘I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptise with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’
At that time: John saw Jesus coming towards 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 ranks before me, because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptising with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John bore witness: ‘I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptise with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’
Reflection
Friends, Bill Bryson is an American – British journalist and author. He has written a number of entertaining and well received books on topics such as travel and science. His science book titled ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ is one of the most entertaining, humorous, and appealing scientific books ever written. He wrote that book because he felt every other book about science “wanted to keep the good stuff secret by making all of it soberly unfathomable.”
But his humorous take on life could also be seen in his 1989 book ‘The Lost Continent – Travels in Small-Town America’ which chronicled his journey across the United States and the interesting people he met along the way. One such encounter happened in the town of Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of author, Mark Twain, one of Bryson’s favourite writers. Bryson visited Twain’s house and walked around it along with other curious tourists and fans. But allowed only to peer through the windows, from what he could see, Bryson found the house a disappointment, not the faithful reproduction it was purported to be.
However, as he went from window to window looking in, he asked another tourist. “What do you think of it?” The friendly stranger replied, “Oh, I think it is great. I come here whenever I am in Hannibal — two, three times a year. Sometimes I go out of my way to come here.” Dumbfounded by the man’s enthusiasm compared to his own disappointment, Bryson replied, “Really?” “Yeah,” answered the stranger. “I must have been here twenty, thirty times by now. This is a real shrine, you know.” His last question to the man was, “Would you say the house is just like Twain described it in his books?” The man replied, “I do not know. I have never read any of his books.”
Well, we have just read from the first chapter of St. John’s Gospel, where John the Baptist points Jesus out as the “Lamb of God.” This encounter is John’s last face to face meeting with Jesus. In this moment, John not only points Jesus out to his followers but he also recounts what happened at Jesus’ baptism: “I saw the Spirit descend upon Him,” assuring everyone that “He is the chosen one of God.” This was John explaining what he had come to know of Christ and about Christ. He was expressing what his exploration of faith had made clear to him. His experiences of God, his searching to know and follow God’s will, it combines in this beautiful meeting where all his gathered knowledge and experience, belief, and work, he now shares with others, encouraging them to know God and recognise Christ in the same real and meaningful way as did.
This remains the call for us all today, and it is the challenge of the Gospel in this Sunday. Too often, people admire the person, the life, and teachings of Christ but fail to make real in their lives what His life and His teachings should really mean for them and the difference they should make.
‘Visiting the shrine but ignoring the books’ might very well describe many Catholics happy with the same superficial approach regarding Christ and their faith. They may visit His shrine, but have they read His teachings or heeded His challenges? Have they tried to get to know who He really is?
Many of us, though, want to go further. We want to know Christ, not just as an interesting historical figure, but as the living Son of God. We often read the scriptures, we continue to say our prayers, we constantly explore, question, and seek an understanding of the God we love, and who we want to know even better. We want through our own experience to be able to do what John the Baptist, Isaiah and St. Paul were all able to do. We want to speak of the God that we know, the Christ that we love by saying, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God; this is the Chosen One of God.’
Friends, only when we try to get to know Christ personally, only when we try to work Him out in some way, only then can we be either terribly disappointed or truly enthusiastic about the God we know, compared to the God we think we know.
Fr. Richard
But his humorous take on life could also be seen in his 1989 book ‘The Lost Continent – Travels in Small-Town America’ which chronicled his journey across the United States and the interesting people he met along the way. One such encounter happened in the town of Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of author, Mark Twain, one of Bryson’s favourite writers. Bryson visited Twain’s house and walked around it along with other curious tourists and fans. But allowed only to peer through the windows, from what he could see, Bryson found the house a disappointment, not the faithful reproduction it was purported to be.
However, as he went from window to window looking in, he asked another tourist. “What do you think of it?” The friendly stranger replied, “Oh, I think it is great. I come here whenever I am in Hannibal — two, three times a year. Sometimes I go out of my way to come here.” Dumbfounded by the man’s enthusiasm compared to his own disappointment, Bryson replied, “Really?” “Yeah,” answered the stranger. “I must have been here twenty, thirty times by now. This is a real shrine, you know.” His last question to the man was, “Would you say the house is just like Twain described it in his books?” The man replied, “I do not know. I have never read any of his books.”
Well, we have just read from the first chapter of St. John’s Gospel, where John the Baptist points Jesus out as the “Lamb of God.” This encounter is John’s last face to face meeting with Jesus. In this moment, John not only points Jesus out to his followers but he also recounts what happened at Jesus’ baptism: “I saw the Spirit descend upon Him,” assuring everyone that “He is the chosen one of God.” This was John explaining what he had come to know of Christ and about Christ. He was expressing what his exploration of faith had made clear to him. His experiences of God, his searching to know and follow God’s will, it combines in this beautiful meeting where all his gathered knowledge and experience, belief, and work, he now shares with others, encouraging them to know God and recognise Christ in the same real and meaningful way as did.
This remains the call for us all today, and it is the challenge of the Gospel in this Sunday. Too often, people admire the person, the life, and teachings of Christ but fail to make real in their lives what His life and His teachings should really mean for them and the difference they should make.
‘Visiting the shrine but ignoring the books’ might very well describe many Catholics happy with the same superficial approach regarding Christ and their faith. They may visit His shrine, but have they read His teachings or heeded His challenges? Have they tried to get to know who He really is?
Many of us, though, want to go further. We want to know Christ, not just as an interesting historical figure, but as the living Son of God. We often read the scriptures, we continue to say our prayers, we constantly explore, question, and seek an understanding of the God we love, and who we want to know even better. We want through our own experience to be able to do what John the Baptist, Isaiah and St. Paul were all able to do. We want to speak of the God that we know, the Christ that we love by saying, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God; this is the Chosen One of God.’
Friends, only when we try to get to know Christ personally, only when we try to work Him out in some way, only then can we be either terribly disappointed or truly enthusiastic about the God we know, compared to the God we think we know.
Fr. Richard
