We have officially entered 'Ordinary Time.' The Christmas trees are down, the red and gold ribbons are packed away, and the priest i...
We have officially entered 'Ordinary Time.' The Christmas trees are down, the red and gold ribbons are packed away, and the priest is back in green vestments. There is a danger in this transition. We might think that because the 'party' is over, the excitement of our faith is over too. We might think it’s time to go back to 'business as usual.'
But today’s readings tell us the exact opposite. If Christmas was the arrival, Ordinary Time is the announcement. Now that He is here, what do we do?
To answer that, I want to offer you three words starting with the letter S: Sight, Surrender, and Signpost.
The first word is Sight.
In the Gospel, John the Baptist is standing by the Jordan River. He sees Jesus coming toward him and says a phrase we hear at every single Mass: 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.'
Notice the word 'Behold.' John doesn't just say, 'Oh, look, there’s my cousin Jesus.' He uses a word that means to gaze intently, to recognize, to see with spiritual eyes. John had Sight. He recognized that this wasn't just a carpenter from Nazareth; this was the Sacrificial Lamb. This was the one who would fix the brokenness of humanity.
The challenge for us in 2026 is that we are losing our Sight. We are the most visually stimulated generation in history—we scroll through thousands of images on our phones every day. But we are spiritually nearsighted. We see the bills, we see the traffic, we see the political arguments. But do we see the Lamb?
To have Sight means to pause in the middle of your chaotic Tuesday morning and recognize, 'Jesus is here. In this difficult coworker, in this moment of stress, the Lamb of God is present.'
The second word is Surrender.
Once you truly see who Jesus is, there is only one valid response. We hear it in today’s Psalm: 'Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.' This is Surrender.
In our First Reading from Isaiah, God speaks to His servant. He says, 'You are my servant... formed from the womb.' God claims ownership of us. The world tells us, 'You are your own boss. You do you.' But the Scripture says, 'You were bought with a price. You are God's servant.'
There is a beautiful line in the Psalm where it says, 'Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me.' God doesn't need your money as much as He needs your 'Yes.' He doesn't need your busy-ness as much as He needs your obedience.
Surrender is scary. It means saying, 'Lord, I have plans for my career, plans for my family, and plans for my retirement. But I am placing them all on Your altar. Here I am. Use me.'
The third word is Signpost.
If we have the Sight to see Jesus, and the heart to Surrender to Him, we inevitably become a Signpost.
Look at John the Baptist again. He was a famous preacher. Crowds came to see him. But the moment Jesus appeared, John didn't say, 'Hey everyone, look at me taking a selfie with the Messiah!' No. He pointed away from himself. He said, 'I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.'
John was a Signpost.
Think about a signpost on the highway. If you are driving to a beautiful vacation spot and you see a sign that says 'Paradise, 10 Miles,' you don't stop the car, get out, and hug the sign. You don't set up a picnic under the sign. The sign is not the destination; the sign points you to the destination.
We live in a world of 'influencers' where everyone wants to be the destination. Everyone wants the likes, the attention, the glory. But St. Paul, in our Second Reading, reminds the Corinthians that they are 'called to be holy'—to be witnesses.
We are called to be Signposts. When people look at your marriage, do they see you, or do they see the forgiveness of Christ? When people look at how you handle your business, do they see your greed, or do they see the honesty of God? If we are doing our job right, people should look at us and eventually look past us, toward Him.
So, brothers and sisters, welcome to Ordinary Time. It is not a time to sleep. It is the time to activate our faith.
Let us ask for Sight: to see the Lamb of God in our daily lives. Let us offer our Surrender: saying 'Here I am, Lord' to His will. And let us be a Signpost: pointing the world, which is so lost in darkness, to the only Light that matters.
Behold the Lamb of God!"
No comments