2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 17th January, 2021

Gospel: John 1:35-42

As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?‘ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.

One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Donal Neary SJ
Gospel Reflections
www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

Good things take time

We need time for the best things in life to come to fruition.  Love grows in marriage, friendship and family over many years. It has significant moments but often it cannot be rushed. Jesus’ disciples were invited to stay with him the rest of that day to get to know him; it would not happen immediately at the river.  ‘Rest of the day’ would mean a very long time.

How well do I know Jesus?   How much do I know about him? These are two different types of knowledge, like I can know everything about a person and not know the person.

What do I find out in this reading about Jesus?  He is one who does not force himself on people – he asks ‘what do you want?’ He likes an honest answer.  He looks into people and sees more to them, like he did with Peter and gave him a new name.  He saw faithfulness in Peter even though others would see weakness.

When we read a gospel story, we can pause here and there and ask, what is new in this story about Jesus?   Or what is new about myself? The gospel is always new. It is a treasure chest to bring out new aspects of the truth of Jesus each time we read it.

In prayer he has time for each of us. They stayed with him for a long time and he does not seem to hurry them. The lord is not in a hurry with us in any way except to love us.

Let the words, ‘Come and see’ echo in your mind and heart today and this week.
Lord, thank you for calling me to the Eucharist;
thank you for calling me into prayer. 

Gospel and Gosple Reflection are taken from  Mass Readings and Sunday Homily - Catholicireland.net.