Homily Notes Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

2nd Week of Ordinary Time. January 15, 2017

Touched By the Spirit

Last week we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. We probably do not remember, but there are three Epiphany stories that are emphasized in the Gospels. Not that there weren’t others. We could say that these are the stories of Jesus becoming a public figure.

The Epiphany story we are familiar with is the visit of the magi at the birth of Jesus. Jesus, in this story, is recognized by the gentiles who came see him as the savior. The second story that is said to be an Epiphany story is the description of Jesus’ baptism. The final story is the miracle at Cana in Galilee. Water is turned into wine.

The Gospel we read today comes from John. And it is interesting that there is no baptismal story in John. We do not read of John the Baptist pouring water over Jesus in the Jordan river in the fourth gospel. We have no description of God’s voice call down from heaven. John has a way of not going along with the narratives in the other Gospels.

What do we have that identifies Jesus? We have only John’s testimony which is what we read today. He tells others what he has seen and hear. He points to Jesus and says, “There is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Some have speculated that as John preached beside the Jordon sheep were driven by on their way to Jerusalem. The sheep were meant for the temple. Each one was a first-born lamb. Every morning and every evening a special lamb would be picked out to be slaughtered. The lambs were meant to be a sin offering for the people. John points to Jesus saying he is the lamb of God. Everyone listening would have understood the implications. The lamb of God was also a symbol that was used by the military to denote a conquering hero. Jesus was both victim and victor at the same time.

John the Baptist also witnesses in another way. He says that he has seen a dove descend on Jesus. Many religions have animals that represent a special aspect of their faith, animals that are considered sacred. For the Jews, a dove was such a creature. No one was allowed to kill a dove. For that reason, they were very tame. The dove represented the Spirit of God. If we have ever seen doves, we know that they do not make a lot of noise. And they flutter around landing very lightly on their perches. The Jews believed that the Holy Spirit, like a dove, landed very lightly in a person’s life. John the Baptist testified to the fact that he had seen a dove land on Jesus.

What are the practical consequences of this Gospel for our faith life? We might think about the fact the spirit is going to come into our lives in unexpected ways at surprising times. We must pay attention though. Many of us might have had an experience of the spirit. Last week there was a story in the newspaper about a man who sculpts animals out of wire, beautiful detailed sculptures. Not impressive until we hear the story of the man. His name is Dan Mathis. He is a military veteran who is once was homeless who suffers from schizophrenia. Because he struggles with his challenges he lives in a small apartment in Davenport now. He would seem to be just another sad story. But one day he picked up some copper wire and started to form sculptures, beautiful forms of people and animals. He gets his material from dumpsters. He uses little paint in his detailed art work. He makes things out of different colors of wire. The man has had no formal training. He just saw the wire and was inspired to begin to sculpt. He now does not take many of his medications because of his hobby. When asked, what inspired him to sculpt. He said, “I do not know. A light bulb just went on in my head.” The spirit can work like that in our personal lives as well as in the life of our parish. When something causes us to do the unexpected, something which benefits ourselves and others it is probably inspired by the Spirit.

Could we be part of an Epiphany story? Do we want to be? As we begin a new year we might vow to try something different when light bulbs go off in our heads or doves land on our shoulder. If we do, we might find the divine ourselves. We might also point out God to others.

Please note: these are notes....grammar may not be perfect.