Ordinary Time 2 - God's Glory Is Our Task

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 2

January 18, 2026

God’s Glory Is Our Task

 

            The famous Indian peace activist Gandhi was a big fan of Jesus. Apparently he read from the Gospels every day and really admired the Lord. But someone asked him why he never became a Christian, and he replied, “Because you Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

            Our readings today speak about Jesus’ mission to be the Light to the Nations – to introduce all nations into a right relationship with God. Once Christ ascended into Heaven, He passed that task on to His Body, the Church – not just priests and deacons, but every baptized and confirmed Catholic. It’s a tremendous thing – the eternal salvation of souls is now in our hands. And thus, we do have a mission, but how well are we doing at making God’s salvation known to the nations?

            Other created things glorify God just by being what they are. For example, a mountain tells us of God’s majesty, the complexity of a cell shows God’s magnificent precision and providence, a cute puppy might show the tenderness of God’s heart. But human beings are the only creatures who can choose whether or not to glorify God – when people look at you, do they see God’s love? His mercy? His faithfulness, His wisdom, His holiness? Or do they see something that looks very unlike God?

            St. Irenaeus once said, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” God receives the most praise when we are fully human – but what makes you fully alive? Sitting on a beach in the Bahamas? A deep conversation with a friend? All of these are elements, but to be fully human is to be like Jesus Christ. As Pope St. John Paul II said, “Christ reveals man to himself” – we only know what it means to be fully alive when we look upon the only Man to fully live – Jesus Christ. Jesus loved this world rightly – He enjoyed the company of others, He spent time with His Father in prayer, He had a clear and passionate mission in life, He knew how to love and sacrifice. This is how He was fully alive – this is how we can be fully alive, too.

            Our Catholic Faith gives us a clear blueprint to this abundant life that glorifies God – but it’s so crazy countercultural! In a couple weeks, we’ll be reading through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in which He calls the poor in spirit blessed; in which He says that if our hand causes us to sin cut it off; in which He says we must love our enemies.

            Just being “nice” isn’t being a light to the nations. No one will get to know God’s passionate, radical holiness just because we hold the door open for someone. No, it takes a much more countercultural discipleship to reveal God’s Heart to the world. People sit up and take notice when you forgive a painful hurt; they ask questions when you’re open to life and let God decide how many kids you have; they stare in wonder when you prioritize Sunday Mass over Sunday sports, or when you sacrifice some pleasure for the sake of Christ.

            There’s a great story of this from the life of St. Josemaria Escriva. He was an ordinary teenage boy growing up in Spain in the early 1900s, with dreams of a family and a career. But on one snowy day, he went out about the town when he was shocked to see that there were footprints in the snow, and he caught a quick glimpse of the clothing of a barefoot Carmelite priest – and he began to consider, “If that priest can walk barefoot in the snow for love of Christ, Jesus must be worth every sacrifice! How can I sacrifice my life for Him?” And Josemaria became a priest, the founder of Opus Dei, and a saint – all because one unknown Carmelite priest lived radically for Jesus.

            My friends, sometimes we think that as long as we save our souls, then we’ve done our job. But our Catholic faith is about more – it’s also about God’s Name being praised in us and through us. When people look at you, do they think, “Oh, there goes that believer in Christ – his life shows that He’s living for eternity.” Or would they be surprised to find out that you believed and say, “Really? You’re a Christian? I couldn’t tell from the way you live.” Is God glorified in you – or are you glorified in you?

            I close with a quote from a Christian writer named Brennan Manning, who said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and then walk out the door and get on with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”