A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 8)
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – January 16, 2011 *
“Jesus Christ, Their Lord and Ours”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 49:3, 5-6 // I Cor 1:1-3 // Jn 1:29-34
(N.B. Series 9 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
The feast of the Lord’s baptism ushered us into Ordinary Time. After celebrating the radiant mysteries of the Lord’s incarnation, we now have the time and leisure to contemplate the public ministry of Jesus – his words and deeds – that eventually led him to fulfill the Father’s saving plan on the Cross. The bread of the Word of God that is broken and shared at the liturgical assembly is to nourish us in this spiritual journey of contemplation and “christification” following the rhythm of the liturgical year.
The Old Testament reading (Is 49:3, 5-6) and the Gospel text (Jn 1:29-34) proclaimed on this Sunday help us to focus on Jesus, baptized by John at the Jordan, as the “Lamb of God” who takes away the sin of the world. Like Isaiah’s prophetic figure of the “Suffering Servant” who was led meekly to slaughter, the divine Son Jesus is the ultimate “Suffering Servant” who would bring to completion the Father’s universal plan of salvation.
The liturgical scholar, Adrian Nocent remarks: “Jesus is truly the Lamb, the Servant, the beloved Son, because he does the Father’s will … The Father, then, has chosen his only Son as Lamb and Servant to take away the world’s sins. The Spirit has remained upon him and chosen him for his task. The incarnation of the Word is for a service that brings him to death so that the world may be redeemed and so that all who receive him in his coming may become children of God.”
The vocation and mission of the Servant-Son Jesus Christ is replicated in the life of Saint Paul and the Church. We too are called to fulfill the Father’s compassionate plan to bring salvation to all peoples of the earth. This Sunday’s Second Reading (I Cor 1:1-3), Paul’s power-packed greeting to the Corinthians, presents the beauty and dignity of our call to holiness in Jesus Christ. It also delineates the unity that binds all peoples everywhere who worship our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, we belong to Jesus Savior who is “their Lord and ours”.
Adrian Nocent explains: “In the opening words of his First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul speaks of himself as called by God’s will to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. As John the Baptist was called to bear witness to Jesus, Paul has now been chosen to proclaim the good news of Christ. But the faithful, too, are the object of a divine choice; because of that call, they form a holy people and call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, they too have been chosen by the Lord and set apart to be witnesses to Christ. If Paul has been chosen for the apostolate, the body of Christians has been chosen for holiness. The holiness is lived within the communion of the Church that calls upon the name of its Messiah and has for its principal function the offering of praise and adoration; these will in turn be the basis of the Church’s witness and apostolate.”
As we begin the season of Ordinary Time, we are invited to behold the immense and universal expanse of our Christian vocation. Aware that we have been anointed by the Spirit of power in baptism, we open our hearts daily to the outpouring of grace and the peace that comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us likewise share this gift of grace and peace with others that we may continue to grow in the “mystery of salvation”.
Today the Church in the Philippines celebrates the feast of Santo Nino. It is a celebration of the gift of Christian faith that the Filipinos received, symbolized in Ferdinand Magellan’s gift of an Infant Jesus image to the Queen of Cebu in 1521. The following lyrics, sung at the festival, narrate the evangelization of the Philippines and express the faith of the only Christian nation in Asia and attest to the dynamism of the Gospel. Together with the universal Church, the Filipino nation invokes the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all - “their Lord and ours”!
“SENOR SANTO NINO”
Refrain:
Senor Santo Nino, with your scepter guide our people
who hail you King forever, for the world is your kingdom.
Senor Santo Nino, in your hands the world is resting.
Proclaim your truth and justice; bring to all your peace and love.
Verse 1:
One day to these lands as gift and in pledge
God sent you to us, O Beloved Child.
And always you have been the light of our souls,
the guide of our people, the fire in our hearts. (R.)
Verse 2:
The ship you were sailing arrived at our shores
to conquer this land, the pearl of the seas.
But you have decided to stay on our soil,
to conquer our people and dwell among us. (R.)
Verse 3:
The queen and the rajah, accepting the faith,
received you in their arms and fell on their knees.
They worshipped your image and called on your name
to ask for your blessing and help in their needs. (R.)
Verse 4:
More ships to the Orient with soldiers arrived,
and searching for gold they found you instead.
Legazpi, Urdaneta, the rajah, the queen,
their subjects, our people proclaimed you their king. (R.)
Verse 5:
Now as one nation we pay you our respect.
Our people did pledge a long time ago.
We ask you to hear the prayers of all:
the sad and forsaken, the poor and the sick. (R.)
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Are we also the “servant of the Lord” chosen to be a light to the nations that his salvation may reach to the ends of the earth? How?
How do we participate in the life and ministry of the “Lamb of God” who takes away the sin of the world? How do we live out the sacrificial dimension of our vocation?
How do we deepen our union “with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving God,
we thank you for the vocation and mission
of your Son-Servant Jesus Christ
as redeemer of Israel
and as “light to the nations”
that salvation may reach to the ends of the world.
We thank you for, in baptism,
we are deeply united with Christ
in his work of salvation
for the covenant people and all peoples of the earth.
Teach us to respond fully
to your kind voice calling us to holiness.
Help us to be receptive to the anointing Spirit
who sanctifies and transforms us into a new creation.
The grace of salvation is from you
and peace is your kind gift to us.
May we give you praise and glory
every moment of our life.
Deepen our unity
“with all those everywhere
who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
their Lord and ours”.
We praise and bless you,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours …” (cf. I Cor 1:2b)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that the Church may truly be holy, catholic, ministerial and apostolic. By your life of prayer, sacrifice and charitable service to others, deepen the unity of all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
ACTION PLAN: That we may experience deeply and witness more powerfully to others that Jesus is “their Lord and ours”, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 8).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US