2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2026 - Year A

The following are prayerful resources rather than a liturgy.

Gospel for the day - The Baptism of the Lord - Year A

John 1:29-34
‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’

At that time: John saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptising with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John bore witness: ‘I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptise with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’

This is the gospel of the Lord. Commentary

Having used our prayer resources, you might want simply to reflect yourself on them and how that might flow into your coming week.

Some people have found it very helpful to meet with others and share their thoughts. If you are interested in joining a small group to share your thoughts and feelings about God's Word please email us: cluster.alpha@outlook.com

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

Today's gospel gives us much to think about despite its brevity. We see John the Baptist, loudly, confidently, jubilantly proclaiming Jesus. There is no hesitation. It is almost as if he is in shock - he tells the crowd that he had always been aware of his role to reveal the messiah, but he had no idea who it would be and how he would identify them. But he knows when he sees his cousin Jesus. This suggests perhaps that John had seen Jesus as just any other child, working and growing into adulthood and it was only at the river Jordan that he saw him as messiah. John's certainty feels magnetic. He says that he has seen the proof promised by God - his absolute certainty in his belief and work is evident. However, from our privileged position we know, that despite this, sometime later, John was asking Jesus whether he was in fact the one? This tells us that we will all have periods of doubt. Despite John's certainty and the signs that he was given he found it difficult to consistently trust Jesus' message. Why? Because the message that Jesus was bringing was far from the worldly message that might is right and rulers use wealth and power to impose their will. In John the Baptist's own words, Jesus' way was to be the Lamb of God.

This description tells us that Jesus is not destined to be a man of power, impressive in the world's eyes. The lamb was significant in Jewish tradition, and it was the blood of the lamb that marked the homes of those saved from death in the Passover. The lambs' sacrifice meant freedom and life to those for whom its blood was shed. Jesus shed his blood on the cross to set us all free. Free from the worldly message that might is right and there must be winners and losers. When we look at people in power, in church, politics or the workplace - who do we admire and find ourselves agreeing with?

Q1. Have you ever felt anything like the confidence and certainty that John the Baptist demonstrated when proclaiming that Jesus was the son of God? Why do we find it so difficult to maintain?

Q2. We witness to Christ as John did, by living lives full of generosity, forgiveness, and mercy toward others. When do you find it most difficult to do this? *

* All second questions © The Pastoral Center

Prayers of Intercession

Pope Leo this month tells us that he is praying for us Yes, for us and for himself and the entire Church, that we may learn, practice, and love praying with the word of God, the gift of Scripture is God’s love letter to humankind let’s pray that we all draw from this gift and get to know our Lord and join him in prayer.

Lord Hear Us… Lord Graciously Hear Us

We pray we listen to the call to use our gifts and talents for the good of our faith communities and answer the call. Our children are the future of the church and as their preparation for the Sacraments begins shortly we need our adult communities to step up when asked to keep our faith communities vibrant in all the cluster parishes.

Lord Hear Us… Lord Graciously Hear Us

We pray for our leaders in society and the church: that they may be inspired by the Holy Spirit to act with wisdom and compassion, bringing justice, peace and healing, may the church be a sign of light and love and unity to our fractured world.

Lord Hear Us… Lord Graciously Hear Us

We pray for those working for peace, justice, and reconciliation in troubled areas, and for all who suffer from war, poverty and persecution, remembering especially migrants & refugees May their voices be heard, and may compassion guide those in authority.

Lord Hear Us… Lord Graciously Hear Us

For all who are sick, housebound or in hospital, may the light of Christ shine on them and bring them comfort. We remember all who are unwell or undergoing tests at this time and all those on the Prayer Foundation list.

Lord Hear Us… Lord Graciously Hear Us

We remember especially those who have recently died Irene Turnball, Alesandra Inglis, Mary Brogan, Chris Hampton, Christopher Bell, Miroslawa Kruczynska.

And all whose anniversaries occur at this time. May the rest in the arms of the Lord.

Lord Hear Us… Lord Graciously Hear Us

We will now say together the prayer to be missionary disciples.

Cluster prayer

Lord continue to bless our community in this time of transition.

Help us on our journey to grow from a maintenance church to a missionary church.
Give us the courage to be missionary disciples.
Make our doors wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship; narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and prejudice.

Kindle in us the fire of your love that all who come here will find joy, peace and love.

Make this a house of prayer and a gateway to your kingdom.

AMEN

Preparing for next week - 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 4:12-23
‘Jesus went to Capernaum so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled.’

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.’ From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

This is the gospel of the Lord. Commentary

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

The gospel passage this week looks strangely disjointed – and that’s because it is! After the reference to an extract in Isaiah, Matthew moves to the choosing of his first followers Peter and Andrew, James and John. These two apparently unrelated parts are joined in verse 17 by the phrase “From then onwards Jesus began his proclamation…”

This verse marks the end of the first section in Matthew dealing with Jesus’ birth, his baptism and his temptations by the devil. In the next section Jesus begins his mission with an exact repetition of John’s message of repentance: 'Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.' That is where the similarity ends.

John was the lone voice – a voice crying in the wilderness. In contrast Jesus will choose close-knit followers (both men and women) and his base in Capernaum lies along the busy trading route between the East and the Mediterranean. People came to John in the desert whereas Jesus travels widely to meet people where they are. John was the classic Jewish prophet, calling on his people to turn away from their sins and return to the covenant between God and Abraham. In contrast, Jesus starts speaking in synagogues but his words and his acts of healing quickly spread to Jews and Gentiles alike. The verses following our reading emphasise how wide Jesus was casting his net in terms of nationalities, religious beliefs and geographical regions. Appropriately then perhaps, he chooses four fishermen to join him in his mission.

John’s mission was over, Jesus’ mission was beginning and it is still going. Before Jesus returns to the Father, he commissions his followers to make disciples of all nations. That remains our task as well. We don’t have the luxury of hearing Jesus speak to us as his first followers did but we have something equally powerful and persuasive: we have the word of God read to us each weekend.

On this Sunday, dedicated to highlighting the importance of the scriptures the theme this year is: ‘The word of Christ dwells among you’ (Colossians 3, 16).

We have the word of God easily accessible to us in books or online and Jesus still speaks loud and clear to his missionary disciples through them. Each of us will respond differently but through prayer and with guidance, we must find ways to answer that call.

Q1. As a missionary disciple, how well do you know the message of the gospels? If you are interested in finding out more you can always contact the Alpha team.

Q2. To whom could you “preach” the gospel of Jesus Christ this week with actions rather than words?*