Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – January 18, 2026
(Isaiah 49:3, 5–6; 1 Corinthians 1:1–3; John 1:29–34)
Although Christmas is a joyful season, the Church does not
allow it to be a time of “pure joy.” She places the feast of Saint Stephen, the
first martyr, immediately after December 25. In doing so, the Church follows
the pattern of the Gospels. In the infancy narratives of Jesus, both Saint
Matthew and Saint Luke give hints of his death. Saint Matthew recounts the
martyrdom of the Holy Innocents, who were killed while Herod sought to destroy
Jesus. In Saint Luke, the aged Simeon refers to Jesus as a “sign of
contradiction.” It is an enigmatic description. It means that Jesus will be
rejected and hated by the very sinners he came to save.
This juxtaposition of joy and sorrow continues today as
well. We concluded the Christmas season a week ago with the celebration of the
Baptism of the Lord. And now, on the first Sunday afterwards, we hear a note of
sadness. John the Baptist, pointing to Jesus, calls him “the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world.” At first glance, this seems like a peaceful
image, but in reality it carries a frightening implication: the Lamb will remove
sin by the shedding of his blood as a sacrificial offering.
As in the liturgies of Advent and Christmas, today’s Gospel
fulfills the prophecy of the first reading. This reading comes from one of the
four “Songs of the Suffering Servant.” These poems testify to a mysterious
figure—the Suffering Servant—who appears in the second part of the Book of the
Prophet Isaiah. The song proclaimed today reveals the Servant’s mission, while
the other songs describe how he will carry it out.
According to this song, God has chosen the Servant to
accomplish two goals: to restore the twelve tribes of Israel and to bring
salvation to the entire world. In light of the story of Jesus, the early
Christians could only see him as the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus not
only established the new Israel with his twelve apostles, but he also sent them
to spread the Gospel to the farthest corners of the world. Equally significant,
he fulfilled his mission according to the predictions of the Songs. He brought
comfort to the poor and died for all men and women, without protest or
complaint.
Pope Saint John Paul II helped us understand the greatness
of these works of Jesus. He wrote that God creates the human person as a gift
of love. In other words, our lives are gifts from God, given to us out of love.
By “love,” we mean the willingness to seek the good of another. Since each of
us is a gift, we fully realize ourselves as human persons when we give
ourselves to others out of love. Jesus makes this self-giving possible through
the sacrifice of his birth, his life, and his death. He was born in Bethlehem
as God’s gift to the world. He lived by teaching us the ways of the Kingdom of
God. Finally, he gave his life on Calvary for the salvation of the world from
sin. In this process, Jesus not only modeled what it means to sacrifice oneself
for others; he also conquered the spirit of evil that prevents us from
imitating him.
Yet we live in a culture that has largely ignored the love
of Christ. Many people today do not know Jesus. They live not as gifts for
others, but for self-exaltation. Each year, fewer adults wish to commit
themselves to another person in marriage. Why? Because they fear the sacrifice
it requires. Young people avoid having children for the same reason. They do
not understand that true joy comes only through this kind of sacrifice. Perhaps
they may find pleasure in superficial relationships and excessive spending on
themselves, but in the end they will likely wonder whether life has more to
offer.
We have just begun Ordinary Time. This is the period in
which we learn how Jesus gave his life as a gift. However, the season will be
interrupted by Lent and Easter. Then we
will learn the cost of imitating him—and why it is worth it.
