Liturgically, this Sunday is a transition to Ordinary Time from Christmastide, which ended with the Baptism of Jesus. This Sunday takes the divine presence highlighted at Christmas one step further – how to respond to the Lord in our midst.  

The first response is the prophet called “Second Isaiah” (Isaiah 40-55). Though scholars debate the identity of the servant of the Lord mentioned in these chapters, everyone agrees that all but four occurrences of “servant” refer to the people Israel. But four instances of “servant (Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12) refer to an individual. This individual stands apart from the nation, exhorting and rebuking them just like the great servant in the Exodus, Moses. Moses represented the people to God, and God to the people. The servant occasionally stood at a distance from the people and rebuked them. Today’s passage is one of those times when, the servant, standing apart from the people, is told to “raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the survivors of Israel.” What a challenge! Called not only to be a servant of the people, but also to be a servant of the world.  

A second example of responding to God’s call is St. Paul, the author of the second reading. Acts of the Apostles considers Paul’s call so important that it narrates it three times, Acts 9:1-19a; 22:1-21; and 26:9-23. One feature shows up in all three instances: Jesus was present in the people Saul was persecuting. To persecute them was to persecute Jesus. Once he realized this, however, Paul turned and devoted his life to serving communities of Christ-followers. More than any other disciple of Christ of that period, he proclaimed Christ to the nations, the Apostle to the Gentiles. 

These examples might intimidate us, urging us to proclaim Christ beyond the Christian community in a skeptical age. One strand of Christian doctrine, however, appeals even to cynics – Catholic social teaching (CST), moral teaching derived from the Kingdom of God. CST attends to poor and marginalized people, focuses on the common good rather than personal gain, and encourages people to open their hearts to the transcendent God. 

Richard Clifford, S.J., has taught biblical studies for 55 years, most recently at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College, and has written many scholarly and popular books and articles.