As with Andrew and John, Faith begins with our responding to Jesus’ invitation to “come and see.” We tell others about good restaurants, barbers, optometrists, etc. 3) We are invited to “ Come and see.” The essence of our witnessing is to state what we have seen and believed and then to invite others to “come and see” our experience of Jesus. One cannot be a disciple of Jesus at a distance, any more than one can be a distant lover. And bearing witness to Christ is an active, not passive, lifetime enterprise. Today’s Gospel reminds us that being a disciple of Jesus means that we are to grow by Faith to become witnesses for him. 2) We need to be witnesses to the Lamb of God by our exemplary lives. (B) Die like a sacrificial lamb by: i) the sacrificial sharing our blessings of health, wealth, and talents with others in the family, parish, and community ii) bearing witness to Christ in our illness, pain, and suffering iii) offering our sufferings for the salvation of souls and in reparation for our sins and those of others. (A) Live like a lamb by: i) leading pure, innocent, humble, selfless lives, obeying the Christ’s commandment of love ii) appreciating the loving providence and protecting care of the Good Shepherd in His Church iii) eating the Body and drinking the Blood of the Good Shepherd and deriving spiritual strength from the Holy Spirit through the Holy Bible, the Sacraments and our prayers. Life messages: 1) We need to live and die like the Lamb of God. 1) The Lamb of Yearly Atonement (Lv 16:20-22) used on Yom Kippur. John’s first declaration probably brought five pictures of the “lamb” to the minds of his Jewish listeners. The Gospel passage presents three themes, namely, the witness John the Baptist bears to Jesus, the revelation (epiphany) and identification of Jesus as the “Lamb of God,” and the call to discipleship. As believers, we too have been called by God to become members of Christ’s Body by our Baptism, and we are consecrated in Christ Jesus for a life of holiness and service. In the second reading, Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians that they, like all who call on the name of Jesus, are “sanctified and called to be holy.” They are called by God and consecrated in Christ Jesus for a life of holiness and service. The first reading is from the “ Songs of the Suffering Servant” in Isaiah, where the prophet was chosen by God from his mother’s womb and consecrated to be a “light to the nations.” Here,aspects of Jesus’ own life, as sacrificial lamb, and mission, as salvation of the world, are foreshadowed. Scripture summarized: In both the first and second readings, God calls individuals to His service entrusting them with a mission. (You may add a homily starter anecdote here) Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is a challenge to live like the Lamb of God and to die like the Lamb of Godand thus bear witness to Christ the “Lamb of God.” We have to choose to accept John’s testimony in today’s Gospel as God’s personal and corporate call to us to become witnesses to the Lamb of God. OT II (Jan 15) Sunday homily (Eight-minute homily in one page)L/23
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |