2026-01-18 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
2026-01-18 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
For a long time, the interpretation of this text was focused on the identity of the servant. Early New Testament writers drew a connection to Jesus of Nazareth who emerged as the ultimate Suffering Servant who through his sacrifice on the cross bring redemption and salvation for all. The Servant of God probably also could, and should, be understood as referring both to a faithful individual who is called to bring about healing and liberation for those in need, as well as to the discipls of Christ.
Thousands of years after the original words of this Servant Song were spoken, God continues to call people to service, called to be leaders in church and society.
Psalm 40
In Psalm 40:1–10 the psalmist recounts being delivered from trouble, established securely, and given reason to praise the Lord leading scholars to classify it as a song of thanksgiving. Verses 12–17, however, have all the characteristics of an individual lament.
Thousands of years after the original words of this Servant Song were spoken, God continues to call people to service, called to be leaders in church and society.
Psalm 40
In Psalm 40:1–10 the psalmist recounts being delivered from trouble, established securely, and given reason to praise the Lord leading scholars to classify it as a song of thanksgiving. Verses 12–17, however, have all the characteristics of an individual lament.The Irish rock band U2 provides an artistic expression of pslam moving from thanksgiving to lament. On their 1985 album “War” they included a song called “40,” the song begins with an adaptation of verses 1–2, which recount the psalmist’s wait for salvation (“I waited patiently for the Lord”) and the Lord’s deliverance (“He drew me up from the desolate pit”; “he set my feet upon a rock”). It then goes to a chorus influenced by verse 3 (“He put a new song in my mouth”).
But then the song includes a line that is not part of Psalm 40: “How long to sing this song?” These words echo a line in the first song on the album, “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” which laments a horrific day of violence during “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Sosthenes is possibly the same Sosthenes who had been “the official of the synagogue” at Corinth (Acts 18:17)
But then the song includes a line that is not part of Psalm 40: “How long to sing this song?” These words echo a line in the first song on the album, “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” which laments a horrific day of violence during “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Sosthenes is possibly the same Sosthenes who had been “the official of the synagogue” at Corinth (Acts 18:17)1 Corinthians, Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, capital of Roman Achaia, that he had established during his stay in the southern part of Greece (between 50 and 52 CE; see Acts 18:1–18). Oral reports and a letter from some members of the congregation had come to Paul regarding serious problems they were facing.
In the initial four chapters, he seeks to unify the congregation, rekindle his relationship, and reestablish his ability to instruct them.
John 1:29-42
The whole Gospel of John was written for no other reason than to reveal Jesus to us. In John 20:31 “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
In the initial four chapters, he seeks to unify the congregation, rekindle his relationship, and reestablish his ability to instruct them.
John 1:29-42
The whole Gospel of John was written for no other reason than to reveal Jesus to us. In John 20:31 “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”John the baptist is the ultimate witness rather than take any glory on himself he points to Jesus as the Messiah. John the Baptist said, "I am not the Christ, not Elijah, not the prophet, not even a man worthy enough to untie the sandals of the One who is to come"
Jesus takes away the sin of the world (Greek: kosmos), not just the church, just as in John 3:16 we hear that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life".
“Lamb of God” evokes the Passover sacrificial lamb from Exodus 12:1-13, when the Hebrew people living in Egypt are instructed to slaughter a lamb without blemish, put some of its blood on their doorposts, and then eat the lamb. Those who do this were spared the final plague of the death of the first born that God brings down on the Egyptian people.
Isaiah 53:1-12 describes the Messiah as a Suffering Servant who was “like a lamb that is led to slaughter” (53:7) and whose life was made “an offering for sin” (53:10).
Jesus takes away the sin of the world (Greek: kosmos), not just the church, just as in John 3:16 we hear that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life".
“Lamb of God” evokes the Passover sacrificial lamb from Exodus 12:1-13, when the Hebrew people living in Egypt are instructed to slaughter a lamb without blemish, put some of its blood on their doorposts, and then eat the lamb. Those who do this were spared the final plague of the death of the first born that God brings down on the Egyptian people.
Isaiah 53:1-12 describes the Messiah as a Suffering Servant who was “like a lamb that is led to slaughter” (53:7) and whose life was made “an offering for sin” (53:10).
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