Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 15th January 2017

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

One of the wisest things that my old mentor and colleague Fr Kevin Donovan SJ used to say to me about liturgy you had to 'work at it. That's of course what the root of the word hints at, the work of the people of God. Our faith is like that, it's not a complete product that we finally accept at Confirmation, rather it's work in progress.

I guess that is what John the Baptist hints at when he talks about Jesus as the one revealed to him bit by bit, though he is related to Jesus that doesn't give him the total insight into who he is. This of course is part of the story of the Gospels, the Christ, like the prophets, is not recognized in the familiar territory of family and neighbour, inner sight, humbleness of heart and knowledge from a deeper perspective of scriptural based faith are needed.

Several times John's Gospel has the Baptist telling us he didn't know Jesus, but then in a revelation brought about by his own active faith journey and deeper reflection in prayer, he perceives who he is: "I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel."(Jn 1:31)

What John is telling us is that it's often when we are occupied in serving God through our lives, when we also engage with the word of God in our scriptures that something is revealed to us. We don't even have to be good at what we are doing, the important thing, as John shows us, something also seen in Isaiah's calling by God, is to be open to the oracles of God calling to us. Our response has to be as Psalm 40 shows us, to realise that God calls through the events and people in our life today, we need to answer: 'Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will'.

If you look at the times your faith has shifted or grown you'll probably find it was when you were challenged by something, maybe it was simply the words of scripture helping us find meaning, or the guidance and example of others, often unknowingly, who reveal God presence and constancy. Fr Kevin's words about liturgy help me see that working at my own faith is important, doubts as well as fears, joys as well as hopes! I ask myself this day, 'dare I be like Isaiah, a willing worker with God? For the Lord also says to me: 'You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory'. (Is 49.1)

Fr Robin Gibbons is an Eastern Rite Catholic Chaplain for the Melkites in the UK. He is also an Ecumenical Canon of Christ Church Oxford