Follow the Leader

Homily for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last week Sunday, we came to the final celebration of the Christmas season. We are now in the Season of Ordinary Time. In five weeks, we will enter the season that we call Lent. Lent is followed by the Easter season. Once the Easter season comes to a close, we will reenter Ordinary Time. We might be tempted to think that Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter are extraordinary. Therefore, the season of Ordinary Time might be regarded as not as important as the other seasons. This would be a grave error. Ordinary Time is just as important as the other seasons of the liturgical year. The word “ordinary” means something completely different in church language than it does in our day-to-day conversations. The reason this season is called ordinary is that we use ordinary numbers, such as first, second, third, fourth, and so on, to designate each week of Ordinary Time. Just as the other liturgical seasons are important for our spiritual welfare, the Sundays and weeks of Ordinary Time offer us much to think about in terms of our relationship with Jesus. This season is a time for us to consider what it really means to follow Jesus.

I am sure that in your childhood all of you have at one time or another played a game called “Follow the Leader,” or “Simon Says.” As simple child’s games, it is a case of “can you do what I can do?” Since leaders are seldom willing to relinquish their presumed leadership, this can eventually become a game of “you’re not as good as I am.” At other times, “follow the leader” is more serious than childish competition. We follow the leader in a parade, or there will be chaos; we follow the leader out of a burning building, or we might lose our lives. Furthermore, we follow political leaders by supporting their policies, and we follow religious leaders by upholding their decisions. In many ways “follow the leader” is really serious business. Nothing could be more serious than being followers of Jesus.

The reading from the prophet Isaiah that we proclaim today is called the second Suffering Servant Song. Originally, Isaiah meant to identify Israel itself as the suffering servant. It was Israel’s vocation or calling to be “a light to the nations,” so that God’s saving grace might reach to the ends of the earth. Today, the Church regards Jesus as the suffering servant, the one who gave his life so that we might all live.

We also read the beginning versus of the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. In his greeting to the members of the church of Corinth, Paul identifies himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” His vocation, his calling was to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentile nations. He also identifies Sosthenes as a fellow apostle. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent.” Each Eucharist ends with the presider saying: “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” Consequently, we are all, by virtue of our baptism, apostles. We are all sent into the world with the mandate to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We also read from the very first chapter of the Gospel of St. John and hear St. John the Baptist point out that Jesus is the Lamb of God. The two disciples who accompany him leave John the Baptist and follow Jesus. John the Baptist also calls Jesus the Son of God. A few verses later, we will learn that one of the two disciples was Andrew, the brother of Simon. Andrew and Simon both become one of the Twelve Apostles.

As we saw in the readings for the feast of the Baptism of Jesus, when we attribute the prophet Isaiah’s title ‘servant of the Lord’ to Jesus, we gain insight into the character of his ministry. In Isaiah, the servant was called to execute justice with gentleness and sensitivity to the vulnerable. His ministry was not merely to “the tribes of Jacob,” the survivors of Israel,” but to all the nations, “to the ends of the earth.” Jesus’ ministry was also universal. Even John the Baptist proclaimed that Jesus “takes away the sins of the world.’

We have been called to follow our leader, and through our baptism we have accepted this call. But what does this mean? What does it entail? First, if we follow our leader, we are reconciled with God; we enjoy the benefits of being children of God; and we embrace the reign of God. Furthermore, if we follow our leader, we will work to establish justice, and we will do this with gentleness and sensitivity to the vulnerable.

Consequently, the question that is asked of us today is whether or not we are willing to follow the leader. Are we willing to do what Jesus asks us to do? Following Jesus will come at a personal cost to us. We live in a world and in a society in which many have abandoned this vocation, and followers of Jesus are often mocked because of their faith. Are we willing to pay that cost? In other parts of the world, following Jesus can come at the cost of facing death. This is not a child’s game. This is our vocation in life.