Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 15^th 2012)      

John 1:35-42

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Questions raised by this passage from the Gospel

1. Who are the mediators that indicate Jesus to me?

2. What am I seeking for most in life?

3. Where are the places in my life that I encounter God?

4. In what ways can I cultivate my relationship with God?

5. Have I begun to discern the mission that God has for me?

We have need of mediators in order to come to know Jesus

At the beginning of the new adventure of ordinary time, we are presented with this beautiful passage that has so many important elements for our life of faith. The story is about the encounter between Jesus and his first disciples. John the Baptist fixes his gaze on Jesus and points him out to his own followers. This is the first important point that emerges from the passage: We have need of someone who shows us Jesus. It is not possible for a person to arrive at faith in Jesus purely on their own efforts. Faith is not a natural trait of the human person, but a supernatural gift from God. We receive it with the aid of others who lead us to the faith. When someone claims to have discovered Jesus purely by means of their own efforts, then the fear arises that they are not speaking about the real Jesus at all. In this passage from the Gospel, Jesus is pointed out by John the Baptist, a prophet who bears the legacy of the entire Old Testament. We need mediators in order to come to know Jesus truly. And, in fact, this text speaks of other mediations of just this sort; his first disciples bring still other disciples to Jesus.

We must take the initiative and follow the indications that we have been given

John's first description of Jesus is "Behold, the Lamb of God!" Here he is referring to the lamb sacrificed at the Passover, and that represents the action of God in liberating his people. The lamb is a meek animal, easy to apprehend and to kill. And it is a fitting animal to represent Jesus, who never imposes himself on any believer, but simply offers himself. Jesus invites us to follow him, and the way of Jesus is demanding, but we have the free choice to follow him or not. He never tries to constrain us. There is no constriction in God, for constriction is alien to the nature of genuine love.

            John says "Behold the Lamb of God!" and his disciples begin to follow Jesus. It is important to follow the indications that we are given! There are many people who listen attentively to the scriptures, listen to great preachers and to leaders in the faith; but when it comes to following the indications that they are given, they fall short. What is important is to take one step after another, and put into practice what we have received.

We must ask ourselves the questions that lead to adult faith

Seeing that they were following him, Jesus asked "What are you looking for?" This is a question that we should all reflect on, and that should inspire us to consider our faith in an adult way. What am I really looking for? We can be in church but have a heart that is distracted by other interests, by other things that I am seeking out, by other priorities. What am I seeking truly? What is it that I cannot live without, that I have genuine need for? Our eyes see the things that they are interested in; our ears hear the things that they wish to hear; our senses in general perceive the things that they are actively seeking to perceive. We do not have a global perspective on the world around us; what we see is selective and is dependent on what we wish to obtain from the world. What am I looking for? If I encounter something that I am not looking for, then I disregard it and continue on, even if that thing represents my salvation! My heart needs to be in tune with that thing if I am to see it for what it is. Jesus puts the disciples' hearts in tune by challenging them to relate to him: "Why are you doing? Why are you following me?"    

Where are the places in our lives that we encounter God?

They reply, "Master, where do you live?" They wish to know where his resting place is, but Jesus, in reality, is someone who is always moving. In all of the Gospels, Jesus is one who passes by and doesn't stay still. But yet the disciples ask, "Where do you live? Where do you hang out? Where do you stop?" And this is an important question for all of us to ask: Where does God live? Where are the places in my life thatI can encounter God? Each one of us has grace-filled moments and places where we can meet Jesus. Every one of us a personal story that has revealed to us numerous blessed places in our hearts and outside of ourselves where we can experience God. And these places are places where we can genuinely cultivate our growth in faith and our relationship with God. It is important that we know how to identify these places where God resides, but we must ask Him where they are! This is what the disciples did, and it is a fact that we must bear in mind.

We must cultivate the desire we have for God and actively seek him in the places where we have learned to find him

We must show initiative! God invites us and facilitates our relationship with him, but the moment comes when we, like the disciples, must make the move from John the Baptist to Jesus. We must cultivate the relationship with God; we must promote the desire to have an intimate relationship with him, to seek out the place where he lives, and to want to be with him there. This kind of relationship does not present itself to us automatically; we have to reach out and make it ours. If our faith is to be an adult one, then we must seek God out and follow him. We cannot expect him to do everything for us. Many people remain stationary in the spiritual life because they are waiting for God to do something. But if I have a desire in my heart, a hunger that has been placed there by God, then it is up to me to follow it! In the Song of Songs, it is recounted how the bride and groom seek each other out. The bride has to struggle to find the groom. It is the same with our relationship with God. He moves way from us to see if we have a genuine interest in following him or not. The Lord respects our hearts. He does not constrain us to follow him, but gives us the glorious opportunity to seek him out freely.

To be on intimate terms with the Lord is to be given a new name and to receive a mission

The disciples follow Jesus and experience an encounter with him. From this encounter, there arises a powerful desire to announce to others what they have experienced. The encounter was so beautiful that they have an irresistible urge to lead other people to the Lord. In this way Simon is taken to Jesus, and the event that occurs is of special significance to us. Jesus changes Simon's name and his identity. To be on intimate terms with the Lord is to have a new name, to be a different person. Every genuine experience of God transforms us. If an experience of God does not change us, then it is clear that we did not receive what God intended to give.

Let us summarize this Gospel!

First, we must listen to the indications given to us by the prophets;

Secondly, we must obey the indications of the prophets;

Then, we must begin to follow Jesus;

We must ask ourselves some serious questions that promote a growth in faith;

We must start to obey the insights that arise from these questions:

Then we must BE WITH JESUS!

Why? So that our identities can begin to be changed!

To what end? To become a new person that has a mission to accomplish. 

Simon was a man who had a mission to accomplish. According to his new name his mission would be to bring the work of the church to fruition. All of us have a mission to accomplish, and these are the steps by which we can discern what it is.