18 Jan 2026 – 2nd Sunday, (A)
18 Jan 2026 – 2nd Sunday, (A)
(1) Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
God is preparing his people Israel to become a light for all nations
The Lord said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength; he says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Responsorial: Psalm 39:2, 4, 7-10
R./: Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry.
He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God. (R./)
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I. (R./)
In the scroll of the book it stands written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart. (R./)
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord. (R./)
(2) 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
Paul greets his converts in Corinth, who are called to be saints
Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sos’thenes, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel: John 1:29-34
John the Baptist announces the One who will baptise us with the Holy Spirit
John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” John also testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Taking stock of ourselves
Two particular thoughts are prompted by today’s readings. The first is John’s dramatic declaration, Behold the Lamb of God. the second is an invitation to do a personal stock-taking during this first month of the new year, and make some resolutions to improve the quality of our lives. The Baptist urges us to ask what are we fundamentally about and then seek to reset our lives. And St Paul reminds us that we are “called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
An honest stock-taking of ourselves may unveil the selfish motives that often direct our actions. To rise above an ego-centric spirit we need to recognise something outside of and larger than ourselves, the God who cares for us and for the whole human community. Can we listen to John’s call to restore what is broken, and Jesus’ call, to bring light to the world? Do we see that it is with our cooperation that the Lamb can remove the “sin of the world?”
Facing our deepest personal truths is always difficult; it calls us to not just drift along with this world’s evil, always taking the line of least resistance. Discipleship is urgent and costly, but it is also possible and is the way towards the deeper joy and fulfilment that our soul is longing for. If we properly hear the Baptist as he witnesses to Christ, our response will be a stock-taking that goes to the root of our being. It may even reveal to us the truth that sets us free.
Key Message:
Can we be God’s Helpline?
Homily:
Teacher: “Do you want to serve as God’s Helpline?”
Student: “I want to be served in God’s Helpline”.
Our Lord Jesus Christ wants us to be His Helpline for His people. He did not save us just to take us to Heaven; He saved us to shine while we are still here.
In the first reading, while prophet Isaiah thinks that God our loving Father has called Him to gather the people of Israel to Him, God calls His prophet Isaiah to gather the people of the whole world.
God thinks bigger than we do. Let us not limit our work according to our mindset. Let us increase our scope to whoever we can serve, in the limited time we have left.
As St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus says, “With prayer, we can lift the whole word to God” even when she was just staying in her simple convent, but her prayers and sacrifices lifted up and also lifted up the world to God.
We can lift up the entire big world, just by our prayers.
A mother was giving a secret tip to another, “My secret is: If I want to pray for any of my issues, I will start praying for all those who are struggling with the same issue.”
In Job 42:10, we see that God blessed Job when he prayed for his friends. God did not require Job to pray for Himself, but He required Job to pray for others, so that God could bless Job.
So when you pray for others, there is no need to pray for yourself.
What is meant by “being light to the nations”?
The world has heard so many things about our Lord Jesus. Everyone knows that our Lord is a compassionate God. But what does God’s compassion feel like? No one has experienced it. Since there is a lack of experience, they are not able to feel loved by God. This is the gap our loving Jesus is asking us to fill. We need to show the real compassion of our Lord Jesus.
How did our Lord Jesus show His compassion?
In a single word, when any one said, “Help me, Jesus”, our Lord Jesus was moved with compassion. He satisfied their need.
He gave them food, protected them from punishment, settled the families (gave life to the only son of a poor widow) and so on. He never neglected anyone who called Him.
How can we show His compassion?
By speaking kind words, by not ignoring people, listening, doing the justice wherever we are, applauding for little good improvements, ignoring others faults and so on.
By not asking this question, “What is in it for me?” for any good deed.
Practically, it is not the lack of a good heart, but the thought that we lack the time, that stops us from showing a compassionate heart.
When Zacchaeus on the tree longed to see our Jesus, our Lord stopped and saw Zacchaeus.
When blind Bartimaeus called, our Jesus stopped.
In all these scenarios, our Lord Jesus was not wondering what He should do next. He would have discussed and been aware of His plan for the day during His morning prayer itself.
But still when Bartimaeus called, He paused His calendar.
We will always have multiple items in our mind, planned for next hour, next day and so on.
But our Jesus calls us knowing we are busy.
He is aware of all of our commitments.
So let us not put His call on hold or on waiting. The call may get transferred too. So let us first answer His call.
Let us be the light, He wants us to be.
The Psalm teaches us the right attitude: “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.” Not tomorrow or not when everything is perfect. Today.
When we say yes to God, even in small ways, He uses us in ways we may never see. A kind word. A forgiving heart. A calm response when others expect anger. These are beams of light emanating from us.
And in the Gospel, Saint John the Baptist shows us how to shine properly. He points to Jesus and says, “Here is the Lamb of God.” John the Baptist does not draw attention to himself. True light always points to Christ. When people look at our lives, they should not say, “What a great person” but “There must be a great God.”
So do not dim your light. Do not underestimate what God can do through you. You may be the only sign of God’s love someone ever encounters.