Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dominica II per Annum A

19 January 2020

Reading and reflecting upon this Gospel passage while in the Adoration Chapel I found myself simply looking upon the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament displayed in the monstrance on the tabernacle and hearing those words of St. John the Baptist over and over: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”  Those words are one of the most direct ways that St. John fulfilled his vocation to testify to the Lord.  In my vocation as a priest I am privileged to proclaim those same words each and every day.  I do so each day in my daily offering of the Holy Mass.  At that moment when the sacrifice of Jesus has been offered and made present on the altar, and as we shift to that moment when it is given to be worthily received in Holy Communion, the priest has the words of St. John on his lips: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.”

When it comes down to it, the most basic summary of evangelization is proclaiming Jesus and making him known, pointing him out.  The start of a new year is as good a time as any to remind ourselves that we are each called to evangelize, to proclaim Jesus, and to point him out to others.  There are myriads of ways to do this, both large scale and small scale.  To begin with, each of us needs to be convinced that we have a part to play in evangelization.  Jesus has been pointed out to us.  We need to foster our relationship with him by prayer, by sacramental life, and by study.  And then, having a relationship with Jesus to give, we need to point him out to others.

While there are many ways to evangelize, I’ll simply focus on three.  We evangelize (1) by literally pointing Jesus out to others and forming others, which I’ll subdivide into two: (a) The way parents, grandparents, and other elders evangelize by pointing out Jesus to their children; and, (b) Going outside of these walls and outside of our comfort zone, outside of our family unit, to proclaim Jesus to others, even to strangers.  (2) We evangelize by going to confession regularly; and (3) We evangelize by reverence for the Holy Eucharist, which is Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

Today we heard St. John’s words pointing to Jesus.  Parents, grandparents, and other elders get to point Jesus out to children.  Time and again I have seen parents holding a small child and whispering in the ear at church or in the chapel, together with a finger point to the tabernacle or the monstrance.  It may be a tired, frazzled mother with an infant.  It may be a father restraining a fidgety child in his arms.  But when I see it I am as sure as I can be that the words being whispered are: “Look, there’s Jesus.”  A few years back we made a significant switch in our formation programming.  We adopted what is called Family Formation.  For kids up through fifth grade, we no longer focus on offering a religious education class by scholastic grade.  Rather, we gather the parents and give them the information to teach their children at home and we hope to build relationships among parents for mutual support in the faith and in parenting.  Pointing Jesus out needs ongoing formation.  By participation in Family Formation our parents are literally evangelizing their children, which is their unique dignity and duty in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.  In addition to that, we need to challenge ourselves to look outside these walls and outside our comfort zone to point out Jesus to others.  Possibilities here are both direct and indirect.  Perhaps in your friendships or work acquaintances, when life is shared in simple conversations, you can be prepared to speak of what your Catholic faith means to you and to share how its practice guides your life.  Perhaps at the check-out counter or on a plane you can ask someone about him or herself and see if an opportunity to share faith arises.  There are indirect ways too.  You might post messages of faith on social media.  I sometimes have some Catholic pamphlets on hand and I’ll leave them behind in my hotel room, or near a sink in a public restroom, or on a table at a coffee bar.  If that makes you feel uncomfortable, don’t worry about it: The good news here in the Bible belt is that no one will think that is particularly odd!

I suggest that another way we evangelize is by going to confession regularly and, for parents, making sure that you bring your kids regularly too.  Why do I consider that a way to point out Jesus?  St. John’s words today were: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”  Isn’t the proclamation loud and clear when you stand in the confession line?  “I’m a sinner and I need my sins taken away.  And furthermore, I believe Jesus is the one who takes those sins away.  He has paid the price for our sins with his very life and he has left us the means to have sin taken away in his generous sacrament of confession.”  That’s what you proclaim by your presence in the confession line.  You believe that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  And if you believe that then there is no mistaking the significance of what Jesus chose to speak as his first public words, words we will hear in next Sunday’s Gospel: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  To you who are fathers, or heads of households, it’s time to man up by getting yourselves to regular confession and by making sure your kids do the same.  It’s part of your guardianship of their souls and their hope for eternal life.  As a spiritual father, our youth know that I’m not at all shy about asking them how long it’s been since their last confession.  We need to make such things a normal part of our conversation as Catholics.  If words of repentance and turning from sin appear on page after page of the entire Bible, and if Jesus chose that message as his first words of public preaching, how can repentance, confession, and reforming my life after confession NOT be frequently at the center of my faith life?  If such repentance and confession is not frequently part of my life, am I really listening to Jesus who preached “repent”?  If such repentance and confession is not frequently part of my life, am I really following Jesus as I say I am?

Finally, another way we evangelize is by our reverence for the Holy Eucharist.  Our reverence for Jesus’ Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar is a way we point to Jesus and proclaim that he is with us.  God truly remains with us as He promised!  We need to train ourselves in the utmost devotion and decorum in the presence of the Holy Eucharist.  Our dress and behavior at Holy Mass is part of this reverence.  Our prayer and participation at Mass is part of it.  Our having confessed sin is part of being reverent and worthily prepared for this gift of Jesus’ presence.  We should also acknowledge with great gratitude the nobility of those here present who refrain from coming forward to receive Holy Communion, choosing to make a spiritual communion, and perhaps be better prepared in the future to receive Holy Communion.  Do you ever stop to think what a courageous and clear proclamation of Jesus is made when someone chooses NOT to receive Holy Communion?  Do such courageous disciples a favor.  Don’t look down upon them.  If one of your kids decides not to receive Holy Communion, don’t panic.  It’s actually a noble sign of faith.  Don’t simply assume some sin keeps the person away.  There are many legitimate reasons to refrain.  And it is part of the reverence we owe to Jesus and part of how we evangelize by pointing him out by our behavior at Holy Mass, whether we receive or don’t receive Holy Communion.

In today’s Gospel St. John points Jesus out to others as the Lamb of God.  In various ways throughout life, in our families and outside of them, in both direct and indirect ways, he has been pointed out to us.  We seek first to foster a deeper life with the Lord.  But the example of St. John gives us a duty as well.  We disciples are each called to evangelize others and to point Jesus out to others.  May we have increasing gratitude for the gift we have received.  And just as the Holy Mass progresses from sacrifice offered to sacrifice given, may we heed the call to give what we have received and to proclaim by word and action that the one who takes away sin is here: Jesus, the Lamb of God!