May the Holy Spirit make you realize that you are an apostle of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God as well as the servant of God and as such, you are a veritable messenger of God’s Love to the needy and downtrodden of our society. Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Isaiah 49,3.5-6; 1 Corinthian 1,1-3; John 1,29-34: 2nd Sunday of the Year: Year A, 2017)
(Isaiah 49,3.5-6; 1 Corinthian 1,1-3; John 1,29-34: 2nd Sunday of the Year: Year A, 2017)
In the gospel reading of today as John the Baptist sees Jesus walk towards him, he exclaims in a very significant expression: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. A superficial look at Jesus would consider him an ordinary person, a mere carpenter of Nazareth. Jesus simplicity is seen in the fact that twice John admits that initially he did not know Jesus. In fact, he only came to recognize who Jesus was by means of divine revelation. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptize with water had said to me, “the man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit. It was when this happened at the baptism of Jesus that John knew him as the Lamb of God and even as the Son of God. The title, Lamb of God is a most likely reference to the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, 7. During Jesus’ time, there were some people like John the Baptist who envisioned a Messiah who would suffer at the hands of the people. The prophet’s description of the servant fits the interpretation of the events of the death of Jesus. Both theservant and Jesus were led to the slaughter like innocent lambs and they handed over their lives like sin offering for others.
Beside the image of Christ as the Lamb of God, Jesus’ connection with the Holy Spirit is quite significant. John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus. By divine illumination John understood that Jesus was baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is, therefore, one who has the fullness of the Spirit of God in him and communicates it to people. John the Baptist states that he was called by God to baptize and that the purpose of his baptism was that Jesus might be made known to Israel; clearly a messianic hope. The baptism Jesus would bring was one of messianic fulfillment rather than preparation for messianic times. John baptized with water; Jesus would baptize with the Spirit, and this would bring about the renewal of minds and reconciliation between man and God. Here we recall the words of Jesus: If one is not reborn of water and the Holy Spirit he will not enter into the kingdom of heaven (John 3, 1ff). John the Baptist, the one to whom God entrusted with the preparation of the way for the messiah, presents Jesus to us in these words: Yes, I have seen him and testify that he is the Son, the elect of God. With this solemn declaration he handed over the new master to his disciples, the crowd and us. Jesus is the one we should now follow and whose disciples we are now called to become. We meet Jesus in the Eucharistic celebration in a special way. The celebration of the Eucharistic is the sacrament of the real presence of the risen Christ in our midst and of our meeting with him. The liturgy of the Word proposes that we listen to his instructions. In the liturgy of the Word it is Jesus who speaks to us. In the liturgy of the Eucharistic we have him really present. In the Mass Jesus is the Lamb of God, who immolates himself and his sacrifice in Calvary makes present to us. At the reception of Holy Communion our meeting with Christ becomes a physical contact. The Lamb of God donates himself to us as food and nourishment for the soul.
In the second reading, Paul begins his self identification by applying the designation: apostle to himself. The word means one who is commissioned and on a specific mission. Strictly speaking, an apostle is more than a disciple or follower. He is one who is sent with the full authority of the sender. Paul further states that he was called to be an apostle. He did not volunteer; the initiative was not his. Moreover, he was an apostle of Jesus who is called by Christ. This means that Jesus, the one who died before Paul came to know him, called Paul and sent him out as an apostle. Therefore as an apostle, Paul exercises the authority of Christ. To be called is to be chosen and this is how Paul perceived his apostleship. In exercising of his apostleship, Paul situates the gospel squarely within the Christian community he was evangelizing. It is a different time from the time of Jesus; it is a different place and different culture. Yet in a sense the message is the same because it is grounded in the life and teaching of Jesus. The challenge Paul faces is the interpretation of Jesus’ gospel for a new historical situation and moment. He does not merely repeat what he has heard. This is because of the peculiarity and the uniqueness of his audience. Paul reinterprets the message in a manner that makes it relevant to those he was ministering to. Like Paul we also have been called to be apostles. We received this call when we were baptized. The beginning of a New Year with its custom of making new resolutions is wonderful time to remember to what we have committed ourselves. At times it seems our apostleship is no less daunting than Paul’s. However, it is no less immediate either. Whenever it is, in Paul’s time or in our own time we must remember that salvation enfolds within the events of time. Furthermore, the followers of Jesus always return to the events of his life in order to discover the meaning of the events in their lives. 
Jesus was not only the Lamb of God, but also the Servant of the Lord as well. He came to unite all people, to bring new life to those who suffer defeat, to be a light to the nations. Paul’s apostleship moves the servant ministry of Jesus forward into the Gentile world. It is now our turn to step into the role of servants to work to unite families that have been torn apart, to bring new life to those on the brink of despair, and light in the midst of darkness. We all know situations in our very ordinary lives to which we can bang the saving grace of God. In this way and in such situations we too can testify that Jesus is the Son of God. Happy Sunday!+John I. Okoye
In the second reading, Paul begins his self identification by applying the designation: apostle to himself. The word means one who is commissioned and on a specific mission. Strictly speaking, an apostle is more than a disciple or follower. He is one who is sent with the full authority of the sender. Paul further states that he was called to be an apostle. He did not volunteer; the initiative was not his. Moreover, he was an apostle of Jesus who is called by Christ. This means that Jesus, the one who died before Paul came to know him, called Paul and sent him out as an apostle. Therefore as an apostle, Paul exercises the authority of Christ. To be called is to be chosen and this is how Paul perceived his apostleship. In exercising of his apostleship, Paul situates the gospel squarely within the Christian community he was evangelizing. It is a different time from the time of Jesus; it is a different place and different culture. Yet in a sense the message is the same because it is grounded in the life and teaching of Jesus. The challenge Paul faces is the interpretation of Jesus’ gospel for a new historical situation and moment. He does not merely repeat what he has heard. This is because of the peculiarity and the uniqueness of his audience. Paul reinterprets the message in a manner that makes it relevant to those he was ministering to. Like Paul we also have been called to be apostles. We received this call when we were baptized. The beginning of a New Year with its custom of making new resolutions is wonderful time to remember to what we have committed ourselves. At times it seems our apostleship is no less daunting than Paul’s. However, it is no less immediate either. Whenever it is, in Paul’s time or in our own time we must remember that salvation enfolds within the events of time. Furthermore, the followers of Jesus always return to the events of his life in order to discover the meaning of the events in their lives. 
Jesus was not only the Lamb of God, but also the Servant of the Lord as well. He came to unite all people, to bring new life to those who suffer defeat, to be a light to the nations. Paul’s apostleship moves the servant ministry of Jesus forward into the Gentile world. It is now our turn to step into the role of servants to work to unite families that have been torn apart, to bring new life to those on the brink of despair, and light in the midst of darkness. We all know situations in our very ordinary lives to which we can bang the saving grace of God. In this way and in such situations we too can testify that Jesus is the Son of God. Happy Sunday!+John I. Okoye
(graphics by chukwubike)
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