Last Sunday, I spoke at length (to those who attended the Holy Eucharist I celebrated) about John the Baptist, presenting him as an accurate model for how we should shape our lives in imitation of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Today’s liturgy continues that reflection by returning once again to the ministry of John the Baptist as the precursor of Jesus, appointed by God to reveal Him to the world after His baptism.
In John’s testimony (based on today’s gospel message from John 1:29-34), he saw the Spirit descend like a dove from heaven and remain upon Jesus. John admits that he did not know Him, but the One who sent him to baptize with water told him: “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” John said he saw, believed, and is testifying that “He is the Lamb of God.”
The entire structure of today’s liturgy flows from that spirit of testimony, especially about the universal call of all believers to witness to the gospel of love. In the second reading (1 Corinthians 1:1-3), St. Paul testifies that Jesus Christ, the Word-made-flesh (John 1:14a, 12a), called him to be an apostle by God’s will. Likewise, the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 49:3, 5-6) prefigures how God has called us all into His mission to minister to one another in a world that often challenges faith, hope, and love.
Beyond our individual callings, the Church emphasizes today that our vocation is strengthened and confirmed through three essential unions, namely: our unity in the Sacraments, our unity in faith, and our unity in receiving and honoring a common hierarchy. God’s purpose in this communion is to keep before us one key goal centered on one fraternity (one common human family) and the establishment of His Kingdom in the world.
As we move forward into this new year, we must keep this goal clearly in mind and reflect on the ways and means to commit ourselves fully to extending God’s reign in the world. This goal is not an option; it is an expectation. We pray, together with John the Baptist, the angels, and the saints, for the grace to live out this calling in its entirety so that when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, asking that God’s Kingdom may come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we will genuinely mean it, and follow it with a lifestyle, thoughts, words, and actions that reflect what we profess to believe.
