First Reading (Isaiah 49:3, 5-6). This reading is part of the second Servant Song of Isaiah. It stresses the early call and formation of the servant. God assures him that he will not only lead back Jacob and reassemble and teach Israel, but also be a light for all nations, enabling God’s salvation to reach to the ends of the earth. The New Testament writers saw the Servant Songs of Isaiah as being perfectly fulfilled in Jesus. This is one of the most universalist passages of the Old Testament. The theme of universalism and inclusion is echoed in the other two readings, as is the theme of the divinely appointed servant.

Gospel (John 1:29-34). Even though this is the year of Matthew, we begin with a reading from John. The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time respects an old liturgical theme of different epiphanies or manifestations of Jesus. In the first chapter of his Gospel, John brings forth a number of witnesses to tell the reader who Jesus is. Chief among these is John the Baptist. In our reading the Baptist refers to Jesus as the ‘lamb of God’ and the ‘Chosen One of God’, two Messianic titles. The designation ‘lamb of God’ suggests the Passover lamb, whose blood delivered the Israelites from the destroying angel. But it also suggests the suffering servant of Isaiah who is likened to a lamb being led to the slaughter (53:7). Jesus is the one who will suffer and die for the sins of the world. He is also God’s Chosen Servant, and thus fulfils Isaiah’s prophecy (First Reading). Thus at the beginning of his Gospel, John outlines a whole Christology of Jesus: the eternally existing One (prologue), who is to die as the Paschal Lamb and Suffering Servant for the sins of men and women, and then pour forth the Holy Spirit on a new creation.