15/01/2006 - SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME - Year B
First Reading 1Samuel 3:3b-10; 19 Psalm 39/40
Second Reading 1Corinthians 6:13c-15; 17-20 Gospel John 1:35-42
Let's look at the first Commandment: You shall not have strange gods before
me! This is the first Commandment, not only because it is the first spoken,
but that, in a sense, it supports all the others as the first ring on a chain
supports all the other rings. In fact, all the Commandments draw their strength
from it. Can there be another God? If God is the Creator of all things, it is
impossible for other gods to exist! Yet, there is a difference between the God
that we, Christians, know and that of the Muslims; also, from the one that the
animists of Africa revere. There are abysmal differences! So much so, that we
must say to them: "your god is not our God! That is, the knowledge which
you have of God is not what we believe!" And we conclude that there are
many gods! But what does the word "God" mean? Do we mean that someone
or that something on whom we lean upon for security, the guarantee of a future,
of health, of life, the realization of our dreams, and satisfaction and success
in all situations? In this case we can say that there are many gods. We, too,
may place or have placed all our hopes in having a certain something, or to
achieve a certain objective. We might say one might have money as his own god;
perhaps sports, fashion, nightclubs, one's home, the love of tanning, one's
vehicle, one's career, etc.! You shall not have other gods before me! These
words must remain imprinted in our mind, strengthened by many other affirmations
of the Holy Scriptures: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other" (Is. 45:22)!
Today we meditate on an important episode in the life of Jesus. John the Baptist
observes Him and points Him out to His own disciples, whom he himself urged
to await the Messiah, the consecrated One from God, sent to re-unite His children
who've been lost. Two of them understand and obey: they begin to follow the
Lord. Jesus sees this and asks what they are looking for. It is interesting
to observe that He does not ask them if they are looking for someone; but something!
Usually, when praying, we ask God for many things; good things, of course, but
always "things". This means that we care for ourselves, to the needs
which we believe we must have, the plans that we make and that we want to obtain
in our life. Jesus wants to see if John's two disciples are seeking something,
believing that He is the someone who might satisfy and serve their desires of
human selfishness by realizing their plans.
Good thing that the two don't ask for something. They understood that the Messiah
will be coming to spread news of a new life, to begin a new era, and that they
want to learn from Him! That is why they ask: "Rabbi, where are You staying?"
meaning that they wish to stay with Him so that they might learn how to live,
how to be His disciples and serve Him, and to have the opportunity to work for
Him. This is the attitude to have before Jesus and the Father! This way, we
treat the Lord and true Master of our life; not as the servant who must do all
that is important to us. It is He who knows what is good for us, and knows,
better than anyone, how our life can be most useful to the reign of God! In
fact, when Andrew introduces his brother Peter to Jesus, Jesus gives Peter a
new name, to show that an meeting Jesus gives new meaning and a new way of life
to man! In fact, those who meet Jesus repeat the history of Samuel, the boy
who was called in the night by Jesus, and makes himself available to work with
Him for the good of His people.
Saint Paul shows us that our life changes radically when we meet Jesus. Because
the Risen Lord sends us His Spirit, our bodies are no longer ours to follow
human instincts and satisfy sexual urges. In this aspect of life, Christians
are decidedly different from all others. A Christian wishes to have a pure body;
respects other people's bodies; does not make jokes about the most holy mysteries
of life; does not play around with the greatest, delicate and mysterious faculties
of his body, which have the ability to procreate and to express love. The Christian
preparing for marriage does not test himself alone, nor with another person.
God does not want us to test the mystery of life! We can only test the things
that can be thrown out; not with our life and that of others', which is precious
and unrepeatable. The young Christian, then, prepares himself by exercising
a love which is patient and faithful, by showing to the one he loves that he
truly loves her because he is willing to suffer, that he truly loves her, not
the sexual pleasure which she can give him. "Glorify God with your bodies!"
the Apostle says at the end of his exhortation. "Your bodies are the members
of Christ!"
Today we can see the outcome, which our encounter with Jesus Christ created
in our life!