2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2024

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
January 14, 2024

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

As we begin this new year, our readings today call us to reflect on our relationship with Jesus, to renew our “walk” with him, following him as the way and the truth for our lives.

So, today, in the Gospel passage we just heard, we witness Our Lord calling his first disciples. We hear about Andrew and another companion who is unnamed, but it is probably St. John the Evangelist. We also hear about Simon Peter.

Now, as we heard, Andrew and John are looking for Jesus, their hearts are open and they have a strong desire to meet him.

And as we see in the Gospel today, in a beautiful way, in the same way that the disciples were looking for Jesus — we also are looking for Jesus, and Jesus is longing for our friendship, too.  He is always seeking, always waiting for us to turn to him.

That’s why I was saying, at the beginning of Mass, that today it is especially important for us to reflect on our Christian vocation, on our vocation as disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

And this is the reason Jesus came down from heaven and was born on Christmas — because he wanted to share in our humanity, because he wanted to love us with a human heart, and to meet us and invite us into that friendship with him.

So as we witness in today’s Gospel, Jesus turns around and asks Andrew and John:  “What are you looking for?”

And my brothers and sisters, this is a question for you and for me, too. Jesus is asking you, personally: What are you looking for in life?

The answer for all of us is the same. We are all looking for happiness, for “wholeness,” for a sense of meaning; we are all looking for love and to know that we are loved.

So God made us this way; we are each born with a longing that only God can satisfy; there is a place in our hearts that only God can fill.

St. Augustine said that many centuries ago: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Jesus.” And it’s still true. It will always be true.

So Jesus knows what John and Andrew are looking for. And so he invites them in those beautiful words: “Come and you will see.”

And again, my dear brothers and sisters, these words are intended for us, as disciples of Jesus.

We are all followers of Jesus, each of us in our own way. That is why we are here today to worship Jesus in this beautiful cathedral. That is why we come to Mass Sunday after Sunday, year after year.

We know Jesus, and we love him. We have been baptized into his divine life and been made children of God.

But that is not the end of it. Jesus is always calling us to a deeper relationship, a deeper friendship; he’s always calling us to seek him and follow him with greater devotion.

So I was thinking especially today, as we begin this new year, Jesus is inviting each one of us once again: “Come and see!”

Jesus calls us by name. We are precious to him. Each one of us. He created each of us with a special love, a personal love.

And we should reflect on this all the time. He created each of us for our own sake, simply because he loves us; it’s as if he could not imagine the world without us.

That’s the beautiful reality of our lives,

So our faith is living this beautiful dialogue with Jesus — walking with him, listening to his words, learning from his example.

St. Paul reminds us today in the second reading, Jesus offered his life on the cross out of love for you.

Paul tells us. “You are not your own. For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.”

This is the truth, my brothers and sisters. Jesus loves you and he calls you by name, he calls you to love him and to serve him, and to give glory to God by the way we live.

That is also the beautiful lesson of the first reading that we heard today, the story of the calling of Samuel, the prophet.

As we heard, the Lord comes into the young boy’s life and he calls his name, “Samuel,  Samuel!”

And we hear the boy’s response, his beautiful answer of faith. First he didn’t recognize him but then when he knew who it was, he said: “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

We hear that same spirit of openness, of being ready for whatever the Lord is calling us to do in our Psalm today. Those words — “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”

And these words should be our words: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”

Because those are the words of true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So what that means is that in every moment Jesus is speaking to our hearts, calling us by name just as he called Samuel, inviting us to follow him on the path of service, to seek his will and to spread his love.

So my dear brothers and sisters, as we begin this new year, let us ask for the grace to be more like Samuel, to be more like those first disciples of Jesus — Andrew, John and Peter.

Let us ask for the grace and the courage to always say yes to this beautiful invitation of Jesus to come and see, to carry out the duty of love that he gives to each one of us.

It’s a beautiful life, it’s a beautiful reality of being disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May our Blessed Mother Mary help us to always stay close to her Son, to listen to him and to always seek to do his will.