Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A - 15th January 2023
Gospel John 1: 29–34
Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit”. Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’
 |
| Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness - painting by Annibale Carracci (1560-1609) |
Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach
As I come to prayer, I take my time to settle; to become still; to be as attentive as I can be to the one who is coming. I ask for the help of the same Spirit who rested on him like a dove.
I read the Gospel a few times, pausing often.
John, seeing Jesus coming towards him, points him out: ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God’. I stand alongside John. What am I noticing as I gaze upon Jesus? What do I say of him?
Like John, I might honestly wish to say, ‘I do not really know him myself’. Yet I am known by Jesus; and I am called by him to witness to him.
How does this make me feel?
The Spirit that has come down and rested on him, that same Spirit, has also been given to me. Does this make a difference?
I continue to stand before the lamb of God, the Chosen One of God. Now, what do I want to say to him from the bottom of my heart?
I stay with this colloquy – this heart to heart prayer – speaking to him freely as a close friend.
I end with a slow sign of the cross.
No comments:
Post a Comment