Sunday
18 January 2026 – II Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time (A)
Mass
Readings: Is 49:3.5-6
Ps 40 1Cor 1:1-3 Jn 1:29-34
Key
Verse to Meditate: The next day he saw Jesus coming toward
him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world! (Jn 1:29).
The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time once again
brings before us the figure of John the Baptist. Last week, in the celebration
of the Baptism of Jesus, we remembered the Baptist, and today we see him once
again as the witness to Jesus, the Lamb of God and the Son of God. Isaiah
presents the Servant chosen from the womb to be a light to the nations,
revealing God’s saving purpose to the whole world. Paul, in humility,
identifies himself as one called by the will of God, sharing in this
servant-mission of Christ. In the Gospel, John the Baptist completes his task
by pointing away from himself and proclaiming, “Behold the Lamb of
God,” the true Servant who takes away the sin of the world and
brings salvation to all.
The First Reading
At the Baptism of Jesus, God the Father was well
pleased, and He spoke with delight, saying, “You are my Son, the
Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17; Lk 3:22). In a
similar manner, the prophet Isaiah prophesies in today’s first reading the
delight of God over Israel, His chosen people: “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (Is 49:3). This echoes the
words heard during the Transfiguration (Mt 12:18; cf. Is 42:1).
Like St. Paul in today’s second reading, who
identifies himself as one called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 1:1),
the prophet Isaiah recalls God’s promise to the people in exile through his own
call: “And now the LORD says, who formed me in the womb to be his
servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him;
for I am honoured in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength”
(Is 49:5). The prophet also acknowledges that he has been given as a light to
the nations, “that my salvation may reach the ends of
the earth” (Is 49:6).
This prophecy finds its fulfilment in Christ the
Lord in the New Testament, the true Light of the nations. It is this Jesus of
whom John the Baptist bears witness in today’s Gospel, proclaiming that He is
the Son of God (Jn 1:34).
The
Second Reading
In today’s second reading,
we have the beginning of the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. Paul,
like John the Baptist, does not speak about himself but points beyond himself
to Christ. He knows that his apostleship is not his own achievement but a call
received “by the will of God.” Addressing the community as “sanctified
in Christ,” Paul reminds us that our identity flows from belonging to
Jesus, not from status or merit. Like John, he invites us to become humble
witnesses who prepare hearts to receive Christ’s grace and peace.
The
Gospel Reading
In
the beginning of the Gospel of John, we have the introduction to the testimony
about John the Baptist: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He
came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through
him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
(Jn 1:6-8). So he came primarily to bear witness to Christ, the light of
the world. The same testimony was borne by John the Baptist and was questioned
by a delegation of priests and Levites at the Jordan.
They came and questioned his identity: Who are you? Are you Elijah? Are you not
a prophet? ». For this he replied three times, saying, "I am not",
confessing that I am not what others think of me (Jn 1:19-22). He knew who he
was. He was very humble to acknowledge his lowliness. He did not seize the
chance to make himself great. That’s why even in today’s Gospel he says twice,
“I myself did not know him” (Jn 1:31. 33).
But
he knew his mission when he said, "I am the voice of one who cries out in
the desert: Make the way of the Lord straight, as the prophet Isaiah said"
(Jn 1:23). St. John the Baptist, therefore, does not demand any attention to
his own person, but in every sense, he indicates everything to Jesus the
Lord. The evangelist, in fact, notes
that "John, seeing Jesus come towards him, said: Here is the Lamb of God,
the one who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29.36). This definition of John
the Baptist tells us regarding Jesus as the Lamb of God, a title which in
Aramaic indicates both the Lamb and the Servant of the Lord described by
Isaiah: He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its
shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth (Is 53:7). The image of
Jesus-Lamb offers a message of non-violence and meekness and manifests the
character of Jesus' mission.
The
Passover Lamp
The
reference also refers to the Passover lamb described in Exodus 12. There were
lambs that were sacrificed daily in the temple in Jerusalem; there was also the
"scapegoat" which, on the day of Yom Kippur, the people laid their
hands, putting everyone's sin on the lamb and then it was led loose in the
wilderness to die. In this way, Jesus is therefore the expected Lamb, who frees
us from our sin (cf. 1 Sam 7: 8-9). Jesus proves to be a real lamb of God,
shedding his blood for the salvation of the world on the Cross. This was well
attested by Jesus in the celebration of the Last supper: for this is my blood,
the blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
(Mt 26:28).
The
Humility of John the Baptist
In
the gospel of today speaks to us about the humility of John the Baptist, in
pointing out to Jesus : This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who
ranks ahead of me because he was before me.' (Jn 1:30). It was the Spirit
of the Lord which revealed to him the identity of Jesus. John was the cousin
of Jesus. But to proclaim him as the son of God, He needed the assistance of
the Spirit : I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with
water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one
who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I myself have seen and have testified
that this is the Son of God." (Jn 1:33-34). He did saw the Spirit of
the Lord descending upon Jesus in the form of the dove and remaining on him.
This
is what the Lord testifies in the first reading of today from the book of
prophet Isaiah 49:3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in
whom I will be glorified." (Is 49:3). After the baptism, when Jesus goes
to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, Luke would say that, Jesus, full
of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the
wilderness, (Lk 4:1). And after the temptation in the desert, Luke would
say that, ‘then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to
Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country’
(Lk 4:14). So the Spirit of the Lord was part and parcel of the mission of
Jesus. Then John would continue to comment that, Jesus who received the
descending of the Holy Spirit, is the one who is going to baptises us all with
the Holy Spirit: I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize
with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the
one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' (Jn 1:33)
Points
for Personal Reflection
All
of us are challenged by the humility of John the Baptist. His sole purpose was
to bear witness to Christ, so that he increases and that he decreases: He must
increase, but I must decrease." (Jn 3:30). He led others to Christ
with his testimony.
Do
I bear witness to Christ with my life as St. John the Baptist? Do I have
humility like St. John the Baptist? Do I realise that unless the Spirit of God
helps me, I cannot recognise Christ the Lord in my Life?
