Light for the World

 

SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

17-18 January 2026 – St. Therese Church

 Is 49:3, 5-6

1 Cor 1:1-3

Jn 1:29-34

       It is too little… for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

       Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.

       Between the first reading from the prophet Isaiah and our passage today from John’s Gospel for Sunday of this 2^nd Week in Ordinary Time, I think we are given an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be Catholic and hopefully thereby to recover a fuller sense of the mission of the Church for the sake of the life of the world. Ordinary Time, “green time” if you will (as opposed to purple or white, the other dominant seasonal colors), is a good time to do just that, as in Ordinary Time we are not focusing so much on the great mysteries of our faith, as we just did in Advent in preparation for Christmas, or as we will soon be doing during Lent in preparation for Easter. Let us see then for a moment if we can kind of get a glimpse of what Jesus is all about in His Person and Mission and what that means for me as a follower of Christ, as a Catholic Christian.

       Looking then in the Gospel to St. John the Baptist, who professed Jesus as the Lamb of God, what can I say not only about the Lord but about the significance of my baptism into Jesus Christ? What am I called to, who am I called to be by my baptism into Christ? Jesus, the one and only Son of God, Who came into the world, binds me by water and the Holy Spirit into that mission which, as we read in the prophet Isaiah today, was prefigured by Israel and finds its fulfillment in Jesus, as proclaimed in the Law and by all the Prophets.

       I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

       Try to imagine yourself as a light to the nations! Not easy as most of us cannot really see ourselves as playing an important role in the life of the world. We’re just ordinary folks, right? We cannot imagine ourselves as a light to the nations in Christ’s place. And yet, if you read the lives of the saints, especially of the early Roman martyrs, it becomes clear that beyond the clergy who suffered martyrdom, we are often talking about girls and young women, who put Christ first in their lives, embracing virginity and refusing marriages, advantageous marriages often with pagans. Lots of early Christians suffered death themselves simply for giving a decent burial to others who had made the supreme sacrifice. Their witness of decency and virtue was undeniable light for the world.

Back in the 1960’s there were official documents out of Rome which referred to the Church, to Catholics, as experts in humanity. Most lay people and clergy were embarrassed by such talk back then and today very few would not reject it as nonsense. I think such talk can lead to a misunderstanding of what it means simply to live the Christian life. Granted from the point of view of reputation, the Church in our day and in our country is pretty well beaten up. An awful lot of dioceses have had to declare bankruptcy to pay off legal claims precisely for their lack of good sense in dealing with frail humanity. But Baptism and the personal witness of heroic virtue is and always was what brought the light of Christ to the world. The truth is that day in and day out we still hear accounts of heroic husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, who sacrifice themselves for their families, live out their vocation heroically, perhaps foregoing chemotherapy to be able to carry a baby to term.

       I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

       Where else does or where should this grand calling of being a light to the nations or an expert in humanity play itself out? Where I ask in a political or social world very much dominated by relativism and opportunism, in a world distorted by the pet ideologies of unbelieving people who not only claim to impose their personal preferences on others but refuse to admit consequences for their actions or choices. It is in such a world that the heroic virtue of ordinary Catholics breaks through and scatters the clouds of ambiguity.

       I don’t want to put on any sort of life seminar for you but very simply to invite you to spend time quietly on the Lord’s Day, allowing for a bit of inspiration and recognition of what are the all-important things in life.

       I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

       We are exhorted to let our light shine for all to see. That light is basically the heroic virtue of personal self-sacrifice for the sake of building up Christ’s Kingdom starting from home. Neither material wealth nor power count for much in the grand scheme of things. Rather, may Jesus Christ be praised!

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI