2 Sunday B Two disciples of John

Four minute homilies

Two disciples of John

Today, our second Sunday of ordinary time, we begin another year with the Gospel of John telling us how he met Jesus for the first time. In the first reading of the Mass, God is calling Samuel, but he doesn’t know what to do. Eli tells him how to answer: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” This should be our response to discover what God wants us to do this year. The Responsorial Psalm has the same attitude of generosity: “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” We try to begin this year with the desire to do God’s will. We realised that last year we were a bit selfish, too centred on ourselves, doing our own thing, and we now renew our resolution to be more docile to what God wants us to do.

John the Baptist was sitting down on the shores of the River Jordan with his two best disciples, John and Andrew. Looking at Jesus passing by, he pointed him out to them with these words: “Behold the Lamb of God.” This expression was very familiar to the Jews: He is the chosen one, the Messiah. The priest repeats these words every Mass before Communion, lifting up the host for us to see him, reminding us who he is we are going to receive. Both disciples understood John’s intention and followed Jesus. John offered to God his two most beloved followers. He knew Jesus had to grow and he had to diminish. It is not easy to give away our prestige, to fade away in history when are very famous. We should offer to God our best, doing things just for him. Many times we are stingy, we give God left overs, just in case. Remember the sacrifice of Cain and Abel. God was pleased with Abel, who gave him the prime of his flock. The smoke of Cain’s fire didn’t go up to the sky.

John and Andrew were following Jesus from a distance, a bit embarrassed to bother the Lord. Suddenly he turned around and said: “What do you seek?” What do I seek? Happiness. We all seek happiness. “Come and see.” Jesus is inviting all of us to an intimate, personal relationship with him. Come and see. Pope Benedict XVI used to tell us: Christianity is not just a set of rules, a lofty idea, but a relationship with a person who changes our lives. Jesus is an experience, an encounter, a person; there is nobody like Jesus. How can you explain love, beauty, inner joy or peace? You have to experience them to know what they are. It is the same with Jesus.

John says that they stayed with Jesus the rest of the day. He even remembers the time of his encounter with Jesus many years later: the tenth hour, around four o’clock in the afternoon. We all remember moments when we have experienced the supernatural, when we have touch somehow the divine. We would like these moments to happen more often, or for longer periods. But we all have had enough proofs of his existence to keep us going, to know that Jesus is walking with us.

Afterwards Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus. We cannot keep a treasure hidden in the ground. Jesus uses other people to bring us to him. Once we experienced his countenance, his gentle touch, we want people around us, the people we love, to share the same feelings. Thanks to Andrew, Simon became Peter, the rock.

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