Isaiah 49.3,5-6 | 1 Corinthians 1.1-3 | John 1.29-34

We begin the second week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church, a season characterized by hope and closeness to Jesus, so that we may hear His teachings and learn from His actions.

The person of Jesus is extraordinary. We do not yet know Him completely and deeply. If we already knew Him, we would certainly be saints and better human beings; but unfortunately, this has not yet happened, because personal and structural sins still remain and threaten humanity and the environment.

We are invited to begin again with greater commitment our following and discipleship, falling in love and being surprised anew by the person of Jesus and by His teachings and actions.

Today the evangelist John speaks to us of John the Baptist who, upon seeing Jesus approaching, declared that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John the Baptist said that Jesus is greater than him because He existed before him. John the Baptist said that he baptized with water so that Jesus would be revealed to Israel. John the Baptist said that it had been revealed to him who the Son of God would be, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. This would be the one upon whom the Spirit would descend and remain. And John the Baptist testified that he saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus, like a dove, and remain in Him.

In Judaism, according to the Law of Moses, to receive divine forgiveness, an animal had to be sacrificed by a priest in the Temple of Jerusalem. It was usually a male lamb, one year old, without blemish.

John the Baptist was saying that, in Jesus, the old sacrifices - which needed to be offered regularly - were ineffective and would be replaced by the perfect sacrifice on the Cross - offered once and for all, with permanent and indelible effect.

The ancient prophets spoke inspired by the Holy Spirit. But, in Jesus, the Spirit descended and remained. That is, the teachings and actions of Jesus were carried out in the power and strength of the Spirit, who is God with the Father and the Son.

How important Baptism is! We become temples of the Holy Spirit. Jesus continues to baptize today through the Church, which is His Mystical Body. Let us value this holy sacrament.

Let us convince fathers and mothers to baptize their children while they are still babies, offering them the proper formation. And let us be like John the Baptist, affirming to all that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Since we have been baptized, let us overcome personal and structural sins each day, in the power and strength of the Spirit.

Today the prophet Isaiah speaks to us of the Servant of the Lord, that mysterious figure through whom divine salvation would reach the nations of the earth, beginning with Israel, His people. Four canticles are dedicated to the Servant of the Lord (cf. 42.1-9; 49.1-13; 50.4-11; 52.13 - 53.12). Today's text corresponds to the second canticle.

The prophet said that the Servant was prepared by the Lord from His birth so that Israel might be united to the Lord through the Servant. This would be the glory of the Servant, through whom the Lord would be glorified.

According to Isaiah, the divine ambition was great: in addition to restoring Israel, the Lord wanted the Servant to illuminate the ends of the earth, so that the nations would be saved by the Lord.

The great Christian theologians read the ancient prophecies illuminated by the Holy Spirit and concluded that the canticles of the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah were fulfilled in Jesus, who was born to glorify the Lord, saving Israel and the nations of the earth.

Let us desire the salvation that the Lord offers us through Jesus and His Church, learning from His teachings and actions, which lead us from personal and structural sins to a reconciled humanity, in harmony with the environment. Let us also be servants of the Lord, who find their glory in the glory of the Lord.

Today the apostle Paul speaks to us at the beginning of his first letter to the Corinthians about the call of Christians to holiness in common life.

Alongside the brother Sosthenes, around the year 56, Paul wrote that the holiness of Christians was given by Christ Jesus—it is a divine gift. Therefore, they should live in holiness with one another, regardless of city or country.

Paul and Sosthenes concluded by wishing grace and peace to the Corinthian Christians, in the name of the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the most serious problems in the Corinthian community was its internal divisions. The apostle insisted on the theme of communal life grounded in the holiness received from Christ. Only this divine gift would be able to overcome such divisions.

Through Baptism, we are sanctified in Christ and become members of His Mystical Body, which is the Church throughout the world. There is no division in the body; all members are united and inseparable. Let us be Christians united in faith, hope, and charity.

In times of worrying divisions in society and the world, Christians are invited to celebrate their unity, strengthening it in the liturgy and in charity towards those most in need, remembering that unity is not uniformity, for differences are gifts from God that must be respected and discerned, for the good of the Church and its mission in the world.

Local: Praia Grande - SP, Brasil

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