2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.

There is no break between Christmas and Ordinary Time – one flows almost seamlessly into the other through the Baptism of Jesus. We ended our Christmas Season thinking about the “revelation” of the Son of God – people realising who this “Jesus of Nazareth” actually was – and this continues today, as we interject a passage from Saint John before we begin our weekly reading through Saint Matthew’s Gospel. New Year is about beginnings, and as we return to the beginning of Our Lord’s public ministry there is a sense of something exciting about to happen – even though we know the story, we dive into it once more, like returning to a favourite novel or film. So it is with joy that we stand in the country of the river Jordan, and recognise Jesus of Nazareth as the Chosen One of God, who offers himself to do God’s work.

PSALM

I waited, I waited for the Lord and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry. He put a new song into my mouth, praise of our God.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I.
In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart.
Your justice I have proclaimed in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed; you know it, O Lord.

First Reading: Isaiah 49:3,5-6

Second Reading: 1 Cor 1:1-3

Gospel: John 1:29-34

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 18^th -25^th January

2nd Sunday Ordinary Time 2107 Newsletter