Dear friends in Christ, with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord last Sunday, Jesus plunges Himself fully into His public ministry, in accomplishment of that mission which the Father had given Him – a mission set out for the salvation of humanity. Conscious of this mission of love and for a perfect continuity of it, Jesus wills that the gospel value be properly disseminated. Hence, He went about this mission in accordance with the divine will of the Father, spreading love and calling all to the love of God as well as loving oneself bearing others in mind. To further enhance the spread of this mission, we read in the gospel text of today the dramatic encounter between Jesus and the disciples. An encounter that changed their lives for the better.
This change was noticeable because; these men who followed Jesus had been beclouded with the vision of searching for Him who would lead them to the Father. Hence, as John the Baptist pointed out to them the ‘Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the World,’ they immediately followed Jesus heeding to His call. The central message here is the fact that; as Christians we have been called on a special mission to lead others to the Father just like John the Baptist in today’s gospel. He knew from the very beginning that pointing to his disciples our Lord Jesus Christ, would amount them leaving Him in pursuit of Him as their new master. But then, his focus was fixed on the mission of leading all to the Father for which he was called and chosen, hence, he did the will of God.
He paid no attention to the fact that his followers had left him for Christ, as this action of his, made Him visibly selfless in the spread of the good news. The acknowledgement of Jesus’ supremacy also by John the Baptist dear friends, is a sign of humility and submission. He didn’t allow jealousy and his quest for power and fame which he enjoyed already inform his decision of projecting Jesus and his Gospel. Today some of us are so envious of our neighbour’s progress that we look for every means to cut short their expansion. We see these attitudes of our’s, in that woman or man who condemns the products of his or her neighbour because they are excelling in their sales. Also, this is the case with Christians who project themselves more than God and his message, those who seek glory and appreciation from men because of what God has used them to do. Consequently, they make themselves demi gods and semi Jesus, forgetting that the mission is about Christ and salvation
. Furthermore, one noticeable point that should take the center of our reflection on this second Sunday of ordinary time, is in the dramatic display of the disciples. They longed to meet with the messiah. They at last saw Him and followed Him from a distance. Perhaps, they followed from a distance not wanting to meet Jesus because they were beclouded with fear that gripped them in approaching Him or put in our common understandable term “they were shy in meeting Jesus.” As this took place, Jesus turned, made the first move and spoke to them. What this reveals to us is the symbol of the divine initiative. It is always God who takes the first step, in meeting us at our door points of needs. He makes things easy for us; just as He did for the disciples who followed Him from a distance filled with fear and shyness and opens the door of salvation for us.
Today some of us come to Jesus with shady intentions and greedy intent, like He asked the disciples “what are you looking for?” so is He asking us and added to that is; whom do you seek? A God who would lunch you into power, affluence, connections and fame? Or you come to Him with a sincere purpose of been saved. We must know therefore, that our financial increment, societal importance and religious influences will fade away but eternal life or doom is a reality we cannot escape from, so our choices of following the Lord and servicing must be genuine, purified and authentic so that they will lead us to salvation. We must therefore, learn as children of God this day that we have been called and entrusted with a specific mission of leading others to God and not to ourselves.
Hence, like Samuel in the first reading of today, we must make ourselves disposed to hear from God because belief comes from hearing; this submission of the will by our attitudes and way of life will lead us to say: ‘speak Lord for your servant hears,’ and like John the Baptist too show others the way to the Father through works of evangelization without seeking for self relevance and self glory. But sincerely abandoning everything for the sake of Christ and counting not our loss nor gain. For within the economy of God’s salvation; we lose what we have gained and gain that which we lose for the sake of Christ. May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit rest and abide with us always. Amen!
HAPPY SUNDAY!
