II Sunday in Ordinary Time – A (Jan. 19, 2014) Readings: Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6 / 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3 / John 1: 29-34

II Sunday in Ordinary Time – A (Jan. 19, 2014)

Readings:  Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6 /  1 Corinthians 1: 1-3 /  John 1: 29-34

Fr. Charles Johnson, O.P.

              At the conclusion of a meeting with a potential donor for our capital campaign to build the new Catholic Center at Tulane University, one of our committee members addressed the two student leaders who were in attendance: “We need to build this new center so we can provide a better ministry and presence to students.  We need you to change the world and make it better.”  His words were spontaneous and sincere and certainly made an impression on all present, especially the students.
“Change the world and make it better,” I thought, “That’s what vocation is all about.  Doing something good with the life that God has given us.”  Perhaps for the students, such words were daunting and presented an ideal that would be challenging to reach.  Still, I’m convinced, they understood and I believe that ideal truly guides them.
          This week, we mark a major event and celebrate a major life:  the annual March for Life to promote our ideal of the dignity of all human life, from conception to natural death, and the need to be on guard against all threats to it.  Monday, January 20, 2014 marks the day to commemorate the life and ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Both moments call to mind the bedrock principles of our faith and how, in our times, there are many situations that remind us that life must be defended and just living must be promoted.  To do so is to work for a better world.  A starting point is acknowledging the dignity of all life, including our own and the lives of those around us.  The continuation is living the gift of life as God’s blessing to us and our response.
         The questions arise, “Do we appreciate the purpose and potential of our lives?  Do we recognize the mission or vocation that is ours?  Will the world be a little better as a result of our passing through it?”The three readings proclaimed today all highlight the dignity of our lives as well as the vocation God gives us and the needs of our world that give it real-life focus. John the Baptist did not know beforehand who would be the Savior, but he knew what God had promised, both to him and the people.  Power was not necessary nor all knowledge.  Rather, trust in God’s promise and the confidence that his life was at the service of such a great blessing.
        The prophet Isaiah put his life at God’s service and discovered not only his life-purpose, but especially the good that the Lord sought to work through him.  He also discovered the purpose of the people of God, the Hebrew people.  The gift of the Lord’s salvation was not a power given to the prophet or the people, but a light that needed to shine through them to the ends of the earth.  Through faith, the discovery of our true purpose in life has to do with the discovery of just how much God loves us.
       Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in a “dark night of the soul,” when threats against his life and the fear of failure surrounded him and he felt all alone, said, “In this state of exhaustion, when my courage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem to God.”  He prayed aloud to God, “I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right.  But now I am afraid.  The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter.  I am at the end of my powers.  I have nothing left.  I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone.”  He recounted, “At that moment, I experienced the presence of the Divine as I have never experienced him before.”
        Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did great things without seeking greatness.  So did John the Baptist.  That’s confidence, in God and yourself.  Knowing you have the strength to do great things, because you are willing to trust in God’s goodness and justice as much as in or more than your own instincts.
        Knowing that you have the intelligence to help change the world because you are willing to change your thinking to be more like Christ.  That’s vocation, following the footsteps of Jesus and finding your bliss, finding yourself and the ones who need you.