Opening Prayer – Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Lord,
You call each of us through our baptism
to be holy as you are holy;
In your Word, may we learn how to be
builders of your kingdom here on earth;
And may we point others to you
by our words and actions like John.
Journal/Reflection Questions
Isaiah 49:3,5-6
• Do you believe there is such a thing as “purposeful suffering”? How have you survived suffering or a painful situation? What makes a person a survivor?
• How does this reading give you strength to continue?
1Corinthians 1:1-3
• What does it mean to be holy? How is John the Baptist Holy?
• What does the Bible say about what is holy? You were called to holiness in your Baptism, what steps can you take to become more holy?
• Is being holy only about oneself or is it about others too?
John 1:29-34
• Many people know Jesus, that is to say they know the story of Jesus’ life. How would you describe your relationship with Jesus?
• How did John know Jesus was filled with the Spirit? Have you met people filled with the Spirit? What does it look like?
• Do you let the Holy Spirit lead you in your life and your decisions? When was the last time you let the Spirit lead you? What happened? Where do you find the Holy Spirit?
General Questions for Journaling
• The phrase Déjà vu means “already seen”. This week’s readings are so similar to last week, you might think you are hearing the same readings again. What new insight do you find this week that might have been hidden last week?
• Jesus is referred to as the “Lamb of God”, why is this significant? Consider all of the references to Lambs and the Shepherds who tend the sheep. What can you learn from this simile and what can this knowledge do to strengthen your faith in the coming year?
• Jesus comes to you every day. Where was He yesterday? Where is He today? Where will He be tomorrow?
• Is there a routine which you dread? How might putting God into it make it a little easier to do? Try to put the “extraordinary” into the everyday “ordinary” and see what He can do!
• Jesus came to save us and forgive us. How can we show we are followers of Jesus? Whom do we know who needs to be saved and forgiven?
Closing Prayer
Leader: Come to us,
ALL: from heaven and lift us up.
Leader: Fill us,
ALL: with faithfulness and grace.
Leader: Create in us
ALL: lives that are light to others.
Challenge for the Week: Do you ever feel like you are repeating yourself in prayer? Do you feel like your prayer is stale? Check yourself to be sure you are seeking God in your prayer life and not simply spouting out words. Even if the words are good and true and meaningful, our intentions are not always in the right place. Take some time this week to work on seeking God in your prayer first. If you feel rushed when you pray, perhaps you need to adjust when you pray to allow more time to rest in God. If your prayer time is filled with lists of people and things you want to pray for, be sure your prayers are intentional. Consider the place where God felt the most close to you and recreate this space in your home as a specific, sacred prayer space for you to go pray or maybe you can go to that specific place to pray once a week. God never tires of us but He knows when we are not “in it” when we pray. Make the most of your prayer life!
weeklyscripturejournal 
Bible Study today was wonderful. There were only a few of us but it only made it that much more intimate.
My word from the first reading today was “servant”. Perhaps because it was mentioned three times in the New American version of scripture we read from 🙂 This word caused me to pause and reflect on what it means to be a servant. If we are “serving” someone, we are providing for their needs and doing what they tell us to do. This scripture tells us that we were created to be God’s “servant” in the womb. Then it says that to be a “servant” we need to be more than, we need to do more, we need to be diligent. And finally it says that God is with His “servant” and shines through them to overcome whatever oppresses them. I feel God calling me to do more, to be more and to be more attentive to my walk with Him. Then in the words of last week’s readings, God will say, “My good and faithful servant”!
The second reading was a greeting from St Paul to the Corinthians. My word jumped off the page from the middle of the reading, “holy”. This word reminds me of one of those rubber bracelets which people wear in support of special causes such as the pink one for breast cancer or the yellow one for livestrong. My husband and I several years back at a youth conference picked up a black one from one of the expo tables. On the bracelet it said, “seek holiness”. My husband still wears this bracelet every day. It is a simple reminder to BOTH of us to work toward holiness. Now what is the definition of holiness? The dictionary says it is a noun meaning “the quality of being holy”. The meaning of holy is also a noun meaning, “a sacred place of pilgrimage”, however it also says its an adjective meaning “belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power”. This bracelet reminds us to live in a manner which says we belong to Christ. Each of us are called to live in this way; thank you St Paul for reminding me in this scripture to strive to be holy as Christ is holy.
The Gospel reading is from John and is a great story of how John the Baptist is a witness to Jesus. I have always been intrigued by John because he shows such conviction. My word from this scripture is “Spirit”, thus another one of my stand out words. I recently heard a message from Joyce Meyers, where she encourages us to be lead by the Spirit. This sounds great but is very difficult to actually do. In this scripture, John says God told him to look for the one who had the Spirit upon him. This excites me to no end…I want to live like that! I want to go out and seek those who have the Spirit upon them!
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