God's Word for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time B

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time B

 January 15th 2012

1 Samuel 3:3-10.19. Ps. 39:2.4.7-10. Rv. 8.9. 1Cor. 6:13-15. 17-20.

Speak Lord your servant is listening
I waited, I waited for the Lord. 

Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit 

“We have found the Messiah”

Gospel John 1:35-42

John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" - which translated means Teacher -,
"where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come, and you will see."
So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" - which is translated Christ -.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
"You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas" - which is translated Peter.

Will you accept his invitation?

It’s the New Year - a moment of hope.  John gives his witness; ‘Look there is the Lamb of God’ Jesus is walking by – but not only by the Jordan.  He walks by throughout history. He is walking by now.  John’s witness echoes through the ages. His disciples leave him and follow Jesus. Jesus turns and asks, “What are you looking for?’ He asks you too. What are you looking for in life?  The disciples answer, ‘Where do you live?’  Jesus says, ‘Come and see’. They spend the day with him.

And you?  Though money, wealth and power may appear attractive, they do not satisfy. Love gives meaning to life. We look for someone who will love us and whom we can love. What happiness if we discover that Jesus, God made man, is the greatest of lovers, that he is the one our soul pines for.: “you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you…your love is better than life” (Ps.63). He invites you ‘come and see’. He invites you to stay with him. Just reflect on this, God walking the earth is calling you.

The secret of a successful life does not lie in achieving, even in the ‘spiritual life’ – asceticism, long prayers, fasting and things associated with religion. It lies in spending time. To learn to spend time with Jesus is the secret of a fruitful life. One is reminded of the anecdote in the life of St. John Vianney - the old man sitting at the back of church. ‘What do you do all day? The priest asked. ‘I just sit here. He looks at me and I look at Him’. If we allow Jesus to gaze at us then our life will change. His look is creative. It burns away our sins, source of so much pain and anxiety. His gaze heals the wounds of sin in our relationships and in us and it gives us purpose and joy.

At the beginning of the year Jesus calls you. He invites you to follow and listen to him day by day. Whether in Palestine by the Jordan or now, Jesus is the same, but now he calls you.

Give yourself time with him each day. Take his Word and read it slowly again and again allowing him to speak to you. He will give you a message for your life and you can speak to him. Slowly he will answer. It is our faith that heals.  “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy, and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost…Listen, listen to me.” (Isaiah 55: 1). The point is, are you thirsty and ready to listen?

Father, grant that I may know Jesus who loves me even to death so that I may live.