January 19, 2014 — Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Is 49: 3, 5-6; Ps 40: 2, 4, 7-10; 1 Cor 1: 1-3; Jn 1: 29-34
Stewardship calls us to serve others. Stewardship calls us to trust in God. Stewardship calls us to live our lives in reflection of Jesus Christ. Stewardship calls us to be sacrificial in our commitment to God and to those around us.
The readings for this Second Sunday in Ordinary Time echo all of those stewardship elements. Jesus was tempted in many ways throughout His ministry. It would have been easy for Him to become discouraged. Imagine being rejected by society when all you did was love and serve. Yet Jesus does not become discouraged because He trusted in God. As it states in the first reading from Isaiah, “God is now my strength.”
With Jesus’ help, by the grace of God, we, too, can overcome discouragement and many burdens by trusting and by living lives of stewardship. Stewardship is relatively simple: it means recognizing that we have been gifted in multiple ways by a loving God, and then returning a portion of those gifts – our time, talent, and treasure – to the Lord in thanksgiving.
John the Baptist was sent to herald the coming of the lamb. We, too, are called to that noble effort. “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
