Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
The LORD said to me: You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10 Responsorial Psalm
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
1 Cor 1:1-3Reading 2
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jn 1:29-34Gospel
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
The Loving Programmer told Isaiah that it would be through Israel that He would download the Messiah. Isaiah obediently reported what he was told, knowing that The Loving Programmer programmed him to be his servant before he was born. His job was to bring the tribes back to The Loving Programmer Who created their programs, and make Isaiah, himself, glorious in The Loving Programmer’s sight, since He is Isaiah’s strength.
The Loving Programmer said that being His servant was too small a job for someone with the responsibility of saving the Tribes, and all the nations, but looking at Isaiah’s prophecies would bring people to understand that they could only have been fulfilled if The Loving Programmer was powerful enough to operate The Creation Program so that everything Isaiah predicted would come to pass. That manifestation of His power would help to save people all over the world.
Here I am, O Loving Programmer. I want to do what You have programmed me to do in Your Program. You heard me cry to you, and You downloaded within me awareness of Your power to let others know about.
You didn’t want me to make sacrifices or burnt offerings. You just wanted me to listen and obey You.
Your prior downloads said that it was my job to do Your will, and that’s what I love, more than anything.
I have told everyone about You. I have told them everything I could about You.
Here I am, O Loving Programmer, I come to do Your will.
I, Paul, an apostle by the will of The Loving Programmer, and Sosthenes, our brother, to The Loving Programmer’s believers in Corinth, to you who’ve been made one with Him in Jesus Christ, The Program Who took human form and lived among us, you who are called to believe and obey, may all of you, and all who believe everywhere, have the grace and peace of operating within The Creation Program according to The Programmer’s will.
John the Baptist saw Jesus (The Program, in perfect, obedient, human form, downloaded among us as The Programmer willed) and said: "Behold, God’s sacrifice for us, Who restores The Program. He is the One of Whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me Who is far more important than I because He existed before me.’
"I did not know Him, but making Him known to the people whom The Loving Programmer originally chose was why I came, baptizing with water."
John also testified: "I saw The Holy Wireless Connector come down like a dove from Heaven and stay with Him. I did not know Him, but The One Who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see The Holy Wireless Connector come down and remain (on Him, not leaving), He is The One Who will bring people to The Programmer, and The Programmer to people, by restoring their programs with The Holy Wireless Connector. Now, I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God (The Living Program, in perfect, obedient, human form.)
