“Here I am, send me.” (Is 6: 8)

2ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

[ John 1: 29-34 ]

   Christmas season is over. What is next?

Yes, the ‘spiritual hype and excitement’ of Christmas has come to an end. With the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (9 Jan 2023), Christmas Season has ended, but our spiritual journey enters into a new phase – the Ordinary Time.

What purpose could there be to something that has such a boring name? To many of us, it just means ‘boring’ or ‘snoring’ time. Etymologically, ‘ordinary’ has its origin traced to the word ‘ordinal’, which means ‘ordered’, ‘numbered’, or ‘counted’ – and it definitely does not mean ‘boring’ or ‘snoring’.

   Ordinary Time: the time to order ourselves towards Christ.

Since ‘Ordinary Time’ is ordered or counted, what are we ordered towards? What are we counting to? Ultimately, the Ordinary Time is intended to direct us, together as a pilgrim Church, towards the return of Christ, as we journey towards the last Sunday of the liturgical year – the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe.

The Ordinary Time is never a time for boredom. It is never a time for us to snooze and snore. Instead, it is a time to come down from our ‘spiritual hype’ and to be more reflective. It is a time to catch our breath and to reflect on what we have just celebrated – and what is to come. It is a time for spiritual growth and maturation.

And on this 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear of:

   (1) The call of Isaiah to be the prophet of God. (Is 49: 3, 5-6)

Isaiah (‘Yesa yahu’ = Yahweh is salvation) is one of the most outstanding and most important of the prophets.

After the death of King Uzziah, Isaiah had a vision of the Lord God in the sanctuary. And Isaiah heard the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Without hesitation, Isaiah replied, “Here I am, send me.” (Is 6: 8)

God has called Isaiah – not only ‘to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel’ – but also to make him ‘the light of the nations so that God’s salvation may reach the end of the earth’ (Is 49: 6).

   (2) The call of John the Baptist to be the precursor of Christ.

John the Baptist was formed by the hand of the Lord – his conception was by the grace of God, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb (cf. Lk 1: 15). He ‘grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel’ (Lk 1: 80).

God has called John the Baptist to be the precursor of Christ: to ‘go ahead of the Lord, to prepare His ways before Him, to make known to His people their salvation, through forgiveness of all their sins…’ (Lk 1: 76-77)

   (3) The call of St Paul to be an apostle of Christ.

Paul, before his dramatic conversion, was Saul.

Saul was one of the enemies of Christ, always ‘breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord’ (Ac 9: 1). One day, as Saul was on his way to persecute the Church in Damascus, he was struck down and struck blind by the presence of Jesus. Jesus called Saul by his name and reprimanded him for his relentless persecution of Christians: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Ac 9: 4)

Saul was humbled and converted: he was healed, got baptised and started proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God in the synagogues (cf. Ac 9: 17-22).

Our Lord Jesus has called St Paul to be an apostle of Christ: to be ‘an instrument to bring His name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel’ (Ac 9: 15).

   Ordinary Time: ‘it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.’ (Ga 2: 20)

As the ‘frenzies’ of Christmas ‘fizzle out’, everything seems to return to ‘normal’. But this must not be the case for us Christians! We are called to be different! We – who have re-encountered and re-experienced the Emmanuel (the God-who-is-with-us) – are called to live out the Ordinary Time extraordinarily.

Like Prophet Isaiah, St John the Baptist, St Paul the Apostle and many others, ALL OF US ARE CALLED TO GO FORTH AS JOYFUL MISSIONARY DISCIPLES – to be the light to the nations, the heralds of the Good News, and the ambassadors for Christ.

No, we do not need to be perfect to evangelize. Prophet Isaiah was ‘a man with unclean lips and lived among a people of unclean lips’ (Is 6: 5). St John the Baptist doubted Jesus (cf. Mt 11: 2-11). And St Paul was an enemy of Christ.

Pope Francis in his General Audience on 11 Jan 2023 reassures us that, “We do not have to wait until we are perfect and have come a long way following Jesus to witness to Him; no, our proclamation begins today, there where we live…”

St Vincent de Paul has this to say, “If God is the centre of your life. No words are necessary. Your mere presence will touch hearts.” It is NEVER about us. It is God-in-us who will touch hearts, convert souls and change the world.

The Lord asks each of us today, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”

May we have the courage to answer, “Here I am, send me.” May it be no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us.

Let our fervent prayer be:

   “Here I am, Lord, send me. I come to do Your will.” (cf. Ps 39: 8, 9)

Let us also pray that God’s justice, peace, truth and love may prevail in Ukraine, Sri Lanka and Nicaragua.