[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, January 18, 2026, the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.
[00:00:23] This week's episode is entitled: Behold the Lamb of God, and in these readings, each of us must confront a fundamental question. John the Baptist says Jesus IS the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world… but do our hearts truly believe that?
[00:00:45] As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
It has become all too common in our society to accept bad behavior, ignore hurtful words, and excuse immorality and corruption… so does that mean that we've lost our sense of right and wrong? Have words and actions become meaningless drivel rather than a measure of honor and integrity? And if that's the case, what does that say about us and our ability to be faithful to the Gospel, to be a light to the world? We are all called to be holy; we are all called to be saints, but are we still honorable and ethical enough to do so?
[00:01:40] Let's begin in prayer:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the gift of Sacred Scripture. Let it penetrate deeply into our minds and hearts so that we will be transformed by it into the honorable, ethical, faithful people you created us to be. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:02:12] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
Our Gospel this week is from John 1: 29-34.
“[John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, 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 before me, for he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John bore witness, ‘I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’”
This week we celebrate the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. So what, you may ask, happened to the First Sunday in Ordinary Time? The answer is both simple and confusing at the same time, as is so often the case in the Church. The Christmas Season ends with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which we celebrated last Sunday. Immediately after that, we enter into a short section of Ordinary Time - which is either called Ordinary Time I or Winter Ordinary Time.
[00:04:03] Since the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on a Sunday, the Monday after that feast begins the First Week in Ordinary Time and - since our Sunday celebration has already taken place for that week - we cannot then go back and celebrate the First Sunday in Ordinary Time. So, when we reach the next Sunday (which is this coming Sunday), we celebrate the occasion of the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.
[00:04:37] Although there are prayers assigned to the First Sunday in Ordinary Time in the Roman Missal, the Church will never celebrate that occasion because it will always be eclipsed by the Baptism of the Lord.
We tend to minimize the importance of Ordinary Time. We almost look at it as if… okay, another important season is over, and now we can breathe a sigh of relief because we don't have to act in a certain way or observe anything special or perhaps dress in a certain way. But during this season of Ordinary Time, we are actually invited to come to know Jesus anew, to acquaint ourselves with the mystery of Jesus in all its complexity, to grow in our knowledge and love of Jesus, and to seek to understand his life, his mission of revealing the Father to us, and to immerse ourselves in his immeasurable love for us.
[00:05:47] Our Gospel on the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time always leads us to encounter some aspect of the mystery of Jesus… to remind us that he is both like AND unlike us at the same time… that he is both fully human AND fully divine at the same time. And we do hear from the Gospel of John in every cycle of Scripture on this Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.
[00:06:20] So, let's listen to the message John's Gospel has for us this week…
“[John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God,’”
When the Baptist declares that Jesus is the Lamb of God, it highlights the sacrificial nature of Jesus’ earthly mission. That mission was prefigured in the Passover lamb in Exodus 12 and again by the Suffering Servant who was led to the slaughter in Isaiah 53. The Baptist then qualifies the Lamb of God's purpose…
“who takes away the sin of the world!”
And that is proclaimed at every Catholic Mass! That is what the congregation sings (or says) to Jesus in the Angus Dei (which is Latin for Lamb of God), we say… “Lamb of God, YOU take away the sins of the world”; that is what the priest celebrant says at the elevation of the host during the Communion Rite, before the people are invited forward to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of Holy Communion… he lifts up the chalice containing the Precious Blood and the host which is the Body of Christ and says, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold HIM who takes away the sins of the world.” In our Gospel, the Baptist then continues…
“This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.’”
Those words come from the Prologue of John's Gospel - we hear that on the Solemnity of the Nativity at the Mass During the Day. John the Baptist is saying that Jesus ranks before him because of Jesus’ divinity, his identity as the Son of God, and God's Chosen One - the Messiah; and Jesus was before the Baptist because Jesus has always existed, he was present “in the beginning” when everything was created.
“I myself did not know him;”
At that point, most of us kind of say… wait, what? And that phrase just seems so out of place, so jarring to us. And we ask ourselves why John the Baptist would say that? Weren't they related? Weren't they cousins?
[00:09:00] Well, yes, but… in all probability, the adult John the Baptist never actually saw the adult Jesus until John baptized him in the desert. Jesus, remember, lived in Nazareth which was in the north… while John the Baptist lived in the Judean desert in the south. It was quite likely that the two men had little or no contact with each other after their respective births.
“but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
John knew and understood his mission as the precursor of the Messiah. He knew that he was to “prepare the way of the Lord” as predicted in Isaiah 40; he knew that, in spite of his personal popularity among the people, he would be followed by one who was greater; he knew that his mission existed solely so that Jesus would be “revealed to Israel” when the words of Isaiah 11 – “The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him” are fulfilled. And the Synoptics tell us that very thing happened when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River.
“And John bore witness,”
Meaning that the Baptist spoke courageously and confidently… and again, the Prologue of John's Gospel tells us that the Baptist came “to testify to the light” precisely so that “all might believe through him.”
[00:10:45] “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.”
Here the Baptist himself confirms what the Synoptic Gospels recorded… that the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus.
“I myself did not know him;”
John repeats that phrase to emphasize that it was very likely that the two never encountered each other as adults.
[00:11:12] “but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me,”
John the Baptist is telling us that God spoke to him and told him how he would be able to recognize the Messiah when the time came - how he would recognize Jesus.
“He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain,”
[00:11:40] That was John's sign - that was how he would recognize the Messiah - and again, all of the Synoptic Gospels record that phenomenon. And the word remain can also be translated as dwell or abide… which captures the enduring bond of love and unity, the bond of shared essence, that exists between God the Father and Jesus the Son. And of course, that bond of love IS the Spirit that proceeds from the Father and the Son.
“this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”
In Mark's account of the Baptist's preaching, he says only that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit; Matthew and Luke both add fire as well.
“And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
How could the Baptist not bear witness - not testify - to Jesus' identity as the Son of God? All three Synoptics record that God spoke at Jesus' baptism and declared Jesus to be God's own beloved Son. How could anyone deny the voice of God?
And yet, we do it all the time… we ignore the Gospel, we ignore the Scriptures, we ignore the VERY WAY that God speaks to us – today!
And we do that every time we tolerate bad behavior - from ourselves or others…
Every time we ignore hurtful words - said by ourselves or others…
Every time we excuse immoral, unethical, and corrupt actions - either done by ourselves or by others…
[00:13:43] So, have we lost our sense of right and wrong? Have honor and integrity become meaningless? Or perhaps - more frighteningly - have they become corrupted themselves?
[00:14:00] There is a truism that has often been attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels that says essentially - a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth.
[00:14:14] And I think that is what we are seeing in our world today. So many things that are wrong are being seen as acceptable; so many hurtful words, so many corrupt actions are simply becoming accepted. So, how do we counteract that?
[00:14:36] First and foremost, we must be faithful to the Gospel and to the words of God's beloved Son… even when what he tells us to do is difficult… especially when what he tells us to do is difficult - because it usually is!
[00:14:57] And in today's world, when the words of Jesus run counter to what our leaders say, we have to follow the words of Jesus… because if we wish to be holy, if we wish to become saints, we will only achieve that by doing what Jesus tells us to do.
[00:15:21] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6.
“[T]he [LORD] said to me: ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’ Now the LORD speaks, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes 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 preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’”
[00:16:17] This passage is from 2nd Isaiah (which is chapters 40 to 55), written not by the historical prophet, but by one of his followers during the Babylonian Captivity. The purpose of 2nd Isaiah is to console, encourage, and inspire the exiles in the midst of their captivity.
[00:16:41] It is sometimes called the Book of Consolation because of its uplifting message and positive tone. This particular section of 2nd Isaiah is from the Second Suffering Servant Song - and it both does AND does not identify the Suffering Servant as the nation of Israel. So, let's hear what second Isaiah has to say…
[00:17:08] “[T]he [LORD] said to me: ‘You are my servant, Israel,’”
[00:17:13] So often we only think of Israel as the name of a country and forget that it was also the name of a person. So, let's take a quick look back at that…
[00:17:24] Abraham, our father in faith, had two sons: Ishmael (whose mother was Sarah's servant Hagar) and Isaac (whose mother was Abraham's wife, Sarah). Abraham banished Ishmael and his mother Hagar after God assured Abraham that his descendants would come through Isaac. Isaac, in turn, had two sons: Esau and Jacob. Esau sold his birthright to Isaac for some food (a very shortsighted decision on Esau's part) nevertheless, that made Jacob Isaac's legitimate heir. Jacob, in turn, had twelve sons… each one became the namesake for one of the twelve tribes of Israel and Jacob himself was given the name Israel by God in Genesis 35. So, even the name Israel can refer to either a person or the nation!
[00:18:35] “You are my servant Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
We must understand that election - being chosen by God - is never for the personal glory of any individual, but it is ALWAYS so that an individual can BECOME a vehicle for God's glory.
[00:19:03] In this instance, the name Israel has a rich and varied meaning… on the one hand, historically it does mean a person - the person of Jacob; on the other hand, it also means all the descendants of Jacob - the nation of Israel.
[00:19:27] Now, the Lectionary omits verse 4 from this passage, which is - in essence - the Suffering Servant's response to God's words.
[00:19:39] And if you look it up, it's perfectly understandable why the response was omitted… the sentiment those words express is full of darkness and dejection. And it's not that we never need to hear them - at some point we do - but when the Church composes the Lectionary, she does so with the purpose of presenting a particular message for every Sunday.
[00:20:09] On this Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, our Scriptures are giving us a glimpse into the divinity of Jesus - a snapshot, if you will, of what that looked like as Jesus first began his public ministry. The dejection and darkness that Jesus experiences the night before his Crucifixion in the Garden of Gethsemane doesn't need to be present at the beginning of his public ministry… it is, in some way, present throughout his life.
[00:20:42] Jesus knew when he became Incarnate what his destiny would be… but the Church, at this point in time, is choosing to focus on the beginning of Jesus public ministry with all of its hope and promise.
[00:21:01] So instead, this passage picks back up at verse 5 with the words…
“Now the LORD speaks,”
Meaning that God doesn't want the Suffering Servant to remain discouraged… instead, the Suffering Servant will be reminded that he is precious to God!
“who formed me from the womb to be his servant,”
God knows each one of us and is intimately involved in the life of every person… even more so that of the Suffering Servant - the Messiah, the Chosen One, his own Beloved Son Jesus.
“to bring Jacob back to him,”
Again, this is why understanding the history of the Jewish people, the history of Israel, is so important to our understanding of the Scriptures in the Old Testament. Jews would have understood that reference immediately – Christians… not so much.
When God says “bring Jacob back” - he means bring the descendants of Jacob back to Covenant faithfulness - so the Suffering Servant now has the mission of repairing the Southern Kingdom of Judah's relationship with God… of restoring the people's fidelity to the Covenant with God.
“and that Israel might be gathered to him,”
[00:22:44] This is now an even bigger mission… it is no longer just to the Southern Kingdom of Judah - it is now to include the Northern Kingdom of Israel as well - all twelve tribes are to be gathered together and returned in faithfulness to God.
[00:23:05] “for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,”
By being entrusted to accomplish the monumental task set before him, the Suffering Servant is - in fact - being honored by God.
[00:23:23] “and my God has become my strength—"
[00:23:26] God himself will give the Suffering Servant the courage, strength, and determination necessary to fulfill the mission that he has been given. God then makes two declarations to the Suffering Servant…
“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 preserved of Israel;’”
[00:23:58] In this first of God's two declarations - what the RSV translates as “too light” the NAB translates as “too little” - meaning that as consequential as the release of the captives and their return to Israel will be, the entirety of God's mission for the Suffering Servant is still greater even than that. The return of the captives is only part of God's plan… and when they ARE released, the exiles cannot see their freedom as an opportunity to return to their same old life, their same old insincere worship, their same old lack of fidelity to the Covenant! God is saying that Israel's destiny will be much grander!
Those same words should be a warning to us as well. When we begin to tolerate bad behavior, hurtful words, corruption… then we need to rethink what we consider to be acceptable and compare it to what God says is acceptable. Because if what we consider to be acceptable isn't what God considers acceptable… then we're wrong, plain and simple. Which brings us to God's second declaration…
[00:25:29] “I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
God is telling the Suffering Servant that his ultimate destiny will make him a light to the nations - to ALL the nations - and that he will carry God's message of salvation to the ends of the earth! The Suffering Servant will embody all that Israel was initially intended to be… God's witness to a world living in darkness.
[00:26:09] Hopefully this is one of those instances that make it so clear why Christians see Jesus as the Suffering Servant - his life, his Passion, Death, and Resurrection established a new Covenant in his Blood and fulfilled the Father's plan for salvation.
[00:26:30] Jesus’ mission did take place primarily among the Jews, but even Jesus extended his mercy and justice to a number of Gentiles he encountered during his travels. And we know that Saint Paul was made the Apostle to the Gentiles by Jesus himself after his Resurrection… and Paul quotes these exact words in Acts 13 to legitimize the Church's mission to the Gentiles - thus the Church becomes the vehicle that brings God to the world… and, in turn, brings the world to God.
[00:27:17] As Christians, we are all called to live good lives, to be faithful to the Gospel, and to be a light to the world in order to draw others to God.
[00:27:33] But do we really see ourselves that way? Do we really embrace that mission?
Or do we allow ourselves to accept and excuse the bad behavior, the corruption, and the dishonor we see around us, perhaps to the point of being complicit in it?
We are called to be saints, but are we honorable and ethical enough to do so?
On our own? No!
We can never accomplish that solely by our own effort… we can only do that through the grace of Jesus; through the divine life he shares with us in the Sacraments. So, we have to constantly turn TO him, constantly rely ON him, constantly LISTEN to what he tells us, constantly LIVE as he teaches us to live in the Gospel… especially when what he tells us to do is difficult!
[00:28:49] Doing what Jesus tells us to do is the ONLY way to bring God to the world… and to bring the world to God.
[00:29:01] That takes us to our Responsorial Psalm, which is Psalm 40, and the refrain is:
“Behold, I come; I delight to do your will.”
[00:29:11] And here are the verses:
“I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.”
“Sacrifice and offering you do not desire; but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, ‘Behold, I come.’”
“[I]n the roll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
“I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.”
[00:29:57] This Psalm is an Individual Prayer of Thanksgiving. The Psalmist tells of how he trusted in the Lord and how that trust was rewarded.
[00:30:09] That experience, captured in the first stanza, then serves as a lesson for others of the importance of trusting in God.
In the second stanza, the Psalmist says that God values obedience from his people more than any sacrificial offering.
In the third stanza, the “role of the book” refers to a scroll of the law - possibly Deuteronomy - which contains Moses’ grand speeches about the law.
Then in the fourth stanza, the Psalmist talks about “the great congregation” - the NAB translates that as “vast assembly” - but it's most likely referring to the Psalmist giving public testimony in the temple.
The theme that connects our readings this week is testimony… John the Baptist gives testimony to the identity of Jesus; the Suffering Servant is to give testimony about salvation to the nations; the Psalmist gives testimony about the importance of trusting in God to those gathered in the temple.
If we were called to testify to our faith - what would we say? Would our words be full of the Gospel message?
[00:31:40] Or would we find ourselves so immersed in the hatred, contempt, prejudice, and corruption prevalent in our society that we might no longer be able to call to mind God's gentle message of love, mercy, faithfulness and self-sacrifice?
[00:32:04] If we stop and really consider that, we know the right answer… we know that our words must come from our faithfulness to Jesus and his teachings… so, like the Psalmist, we too must trust in God at all times.
[00:32:25] That takes us to our Second Reading, which is from 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3.
“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.”
[00:33:04] 1 Corinthians is an Occasional Letter that Paul wrote to address a number of issues that were troubling the Christian community in Corinth.
[00:33:15] This is the opening - or introduction - of that letter. It was written by Paul, from Ephesus, during his Third Missionary Journey (which took place between 53 and 58 AD) and it is the first of five passages that we will hear from 1 Corinthians in this section of Ordinary Time.
[00:33:37] The opening of ancient letters typically had three distinct parts: the name of the sender, the identity of the recipient, and a greeting of some sort. We can easily identify all three of those parts in this example.
[00:33:58] So, let's listen to the beginning of Paul's First letter to the Corinthians…
[00:34:05] “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sos’thenes,”
[00:34:13] There is the first part - the name of the sender… or, in this case, senders. Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus - not by his own choice, but because he was CALLED by God to undertake that mission. And Paul then mentions another person… Sosthenes – who, the historical record tells us, was the head of the synagogue in Corinth.
[00:34:43] When Paul calls Sosthenes “our brother” he does so to indicate that Sosthenes embraced the good news of Jesus when Paul preached in Corinth, that he, in turn, became a Christian, and apparently became one of Paul's traveling companions.
[00:35:07] Now the inclusion of the name Sosthenes identifies him as a co-sender of the letter, although not necessarily a co-author, and it also serves to alert the Corinthian community that Sosthenes was still with Paul.
[00:35:26] Now, let's explore the identity of the recipient…
“To the Church of God which is at Corinth,”
The Church that Paul himself established.
“to those sanctified in Christ Jesus,”
[00:35:42] To be sanctified, of course, means to be made holy, to be set apart to serve God, which was accomplished through Jesus. Paul is reminding the Corinthian community that no matter what difficulties or challenges they may encounter, they are still called to serve God!
[00:36:06] An excellent reminder to us in today's world!
[00:36:11] “called to be saints”
The NAB translates that as holy… “called to be holy.” Paul isn't trying to flatter the Christians in Corinth - he is reminding them of their responsibility as followers of Christ… to be holy as God is holy… to be perfect as God is perfect.
[00:36:38] “together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:”
[00:36:48] Jesus is the Lord of all Christians - therefore all Christians should be united in Jesus… united in prayer, united in worship, united in message, united in mission.
[00:37:10] That brings the second part of this greeting to a close. It's difficult to see that when it was broken down the way it was, so let me repeat it as Paul wrote it - so that we can more easily grasp how Paul addresses the recipients of this letter:
[00:37:27] “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:”
[00:37:44] Read together like that it's easier to see that Paul is addressing all members of the Christian community in Corinth. And remember, these letters were written specifically to be read aloud - to be proclaimed - just as they are proclaimed in the Church today.
[00:38:06] That then takes us to the third and final part of the opening of this letter, which is…
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
[00:38:19] Grace and peace are, of course, gifts freely bestowed upon faithful Christians by God the Father and Jesus the Son. And this is a typical greeting for Paul… we see it - in some form or fashion - in every one of his letters.
[00:38:36] We too are recipients of Paul's letters - not just this letter to the Corinthians - but all of Paul's letters. The Scriptures are living, they are organic, and they speak to us today… they have messages for us; they have things to teach us, but do we listen?
[00:39:05] Paul says that the Church is sanctified by Jesus… that the Church is called to be holy, to be saints… that the Church is to be united in Jesus…. but does that describe the Church today - not just the universal Church all over the world - does that describe each parish?
[00:39:34] When you walk into Mass on Sunday, can you look around and say that you are united with everyone else gathered to worship at that time and in that place? Because that's what we're supposed to be - but does it?
[00:39:53] Sadly, all too often, it does not.
[00:39:58] But that doesn't mean we can't work to change that! It does mean that we have our work cut out for us!
[00:40:09] When we see someone behaving badly - whether it is ourselves or our leaders… we need to reject that bad behavior rather than accept it!
[00:40:20] When we hear someone insult another person with hurtful, derogatory comments or racial slurs - we need to reject those demeaning words rather than accept them!
[00:40:34] When we observe immoral, corrupt, or dishonest actions - we need to reject those deeds rather than accept them!
[00:40:46] Because we must - above all else - be faithful to the Gospel and to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ… no matter how difficult the things are that he tells us to do… because we know that he WILL give us the grace to do what is right - if we ask him.
If we want to be holy… if we want to become saints… if we want to be honorable and ethical… if we want to be a light to the world… doing what Jesus tells us to do is the only way we can accomplish any of that!
[00:41:35] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you - safe and secure - in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was essential assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God Bless.
