Thoughts from the Second Floor Front
II Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 18, 2026
For some reason, although we will be hearing from the Gospel of Matthew throughout this year, the liturgist has given us a brief, but significant, excerpt from the Fourth Gospel. There was some confusion as to His identity as Jesus began the Public Ministry. John the Baptist had his band of disciples and in this passage John sends them to Jesus. John points out who Jesus is to his own disciples and to others as well.
When John says: Behold, the Lamb of God, those within earshot would have been rightly startled. Even in our parish, which in some ways remains more rural than suburban, the idea of a lamb in 21st century North America would be very different than the image John offers. The lamb to which John is referring is not the white ball of wool, with a pink nose and blue-ribbon arounds its neck. This Lamb is the Lamb of Sacrifice. What John did that day, in a manner that is entirely prophetic, was to alert his followers and others about the identity of Jesus. The Lord’s identity is a big issue in the gospels.
Jesus is often questioned: Who are you? From where do you come? By what authority do you do the things that you do? Fr. Raymond Brown, in a brief work entitled: The community of the beloved disciple, posits that in John’s gospel there are disparate groups: Pharisees, Scribes Leaders of the people, an amorphous set simply entitled “the world,” John’s disciples and Jesus’ own disciples. Brown presents that Jesus’ one goal in the Public Ministry is to bring them into union with Him. He sadly fails at this and not everyone responds to His invitation. Culminating in the High Priestly Prayer on the night of the Last Supper, he prays for unity. Which, as a Church, we still labor at achieving.
But the effort at unity would not have even been possible without knowledge of Jesus. John pointed Jesus out to his disciples. Who pointed Jesus out to you? In all likelihood, it was your parents. But perhaps it was someone else; a teacher, your spouse, a family member, religious sister or brother, a priest or deacon? When you finish reading this little essay, thank God for that person and ask God to bless them for their effort on your behalf.
And now to you.
At the end of the gospel excerpt, Simon is presented to the Master and his name is changed to Peter. From that encounter Peter is changed. I thought of that marvelous story Pope Francis told at the World meeting of families in 2015 about St. Katherine Drexel meeting Pope Leo XIII. When she asked the Holy Father for missionaries to come to America his response, as Pope Francis told it was: ¿Y tú?,¿qué vas a hacer? And you? What are you going to do? The same question can be put to us, each day. ¿Y tú?,¿qué vas a hacer?
We unite ourselves to Jesus, most especially at the celebration of the Eucharist. That unity need not end at the church door as you begin making your way through the parking lot. As disciples of Christ we are obliged to point Jesus out to someone in our life. There is not always a great or dramatic intervention needed. A kind word instead of negativity. A gentle gesture rather than a harsh response. A word of appreciation rather than a curse. These are actions of Grace. These are actions of a disciple. There is a need to listen for the voice of the Lord. It will probably not come with stained glass windows and organ music. The voice of God will probably be cloaked in the ordinary circumstances of your life. A life that can become extraordinary through your response to the invitation from Jesus to join yourself to Him. One of the essential requirements to hear is to be in silence. Shut out the distractions. Turn off the television and radio and above all the Internet. Read. You may want to consider reading Paul’s first letter to the Corinthains. We will be hearing from that selection for the next several weeks. Paul’s communication with the Ancient Church in Corinth is as vital and helpful today as it was when he wrote it in the first century.
Faithfully,
Msgr. Diamond