Newsletter – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A.

John the Baptiser doesn’t just sit on a rock when he receives the call from God. Paul doesn’t just sit. Isaiah doesn’t just sit around either. They are called to do God’s work, and so they get up and start working. Isaiah proclaims truth and warnings; Paul travels, establishes churches, and writes letters; John baptises and preaches repentance.

How does a teenager do God’s work?

Why aren’t more teenagers (or adults) involved in God’s work?

As followers of Jesus, we are called to be light to all nations. In Isaiah’s time that had a specific and serious meaning. It meant that salvation would be brought to all peoples, not just to the Jews. This was a hard message for many Jews to accept. Jews believed that they were God’s Chosen People and that they needed to avoid other, ‘lesser’ peoples in order to remain true to God’s way.

Today many people act as if they believe they are God’s new chosen people. It is difficult for them to accept foreign peoples and foreign ways. What evidence do you see of that in the news?

Do you have ‘chosen people’ in your school? Are some groups shunned as ‘lesser’? If so, why? Where do those attitudes come from? How are you called to be a light to all peoples – even to students in your high school who are in shunned groups?