Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
Psalm 40
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
John 1:29-34
ANOINTED ANOINTER
Our liturgy today is concerned with pointing out Jesus as the Messiah. The root meaning of the word "messiah" is "anointed." Jesus is the Anointed One, sent by God on a mission to our sinful, rebellious world. Jesus is the one who fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah. John the Baptist saw the Spirit descending upon Jesus and recognized him as the one who would baptize mankind in the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the "Anointed Anointer."
ISAIAH
Today's first reading from Isaiah is a description of the Servant of the Lord - a messianic figure. The Lord God says about his Servant: "I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
The Responsorial, Psalm 40, expresses the spirituality of Jesus, that is to say, his total devotion and commitment to obeying the Father's will.
GOSPEL
Our gospel narrative today recounts John the Baptist pointing out Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." He is the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord foretold by Isaiah as the one who is to bring salvation to the earth.
John testifies that the Lord had revealed to him that the one whom the Spirit descended upon like a dove would be the one to baptize with the Holy Spirit. John concludes, "Now I have seen and testified, "that he is the Son of God."
Jesus is indeed the Anointed Anointer - sent by God to save mankind and baptize us in the Holy Spirit.
1 CORINTHIANS
Our second reading is the very beginning of St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. He addresses them as "sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy." Paul opens this letter with praise but he will not be afraid to challenge and admonish the Corinthians later in the letter!
WHO IS JESUS?
Today we are plunged into the public ministry of Jesus with a clarion reminder of who he is and what his mission is. The Gospel of John begins with the words we heard on Christmas Day: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
The gospel message is that Jesus of Nazareth is the Word made flesh. He is the Servant of the Lord, the Messiah, the Anointed Anointer. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We are called to testify, along with John the Baptist, that Jesus is indeed the very Son of God.