Look we have Found the Messiah,
Fresco by Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri, 1581-1641),
Painted between 1622-28
© Sant'Andrea della Valle, Rome
12 Jan 2024
Year B(II), Ordinary Time, 2nd Sunday of the Year
What do you want?
It is always worth reflecting on the questions that Jesus asks in the gospels. They are invariably questions that he is addressing also to us. In John’s gospel, the opening words of Jesus take the form of a question, the question we find in today’s gospel reading addressed to two disciples of John the Baptist, ‘What do you want?' Jesus is asking after their deepest desires, ‘What are you really looking for?’ would be another way of phrasing this question. By means of this question, Jesus invites all of us to bring our deepest desires to him. And what is our deepest desire? For all of us it is happiness. Hence Jesus tells the two disciples ‘Come and see’. Indeed by following Jesus, and seeing what he is all about, we will find true happiness. Both the question 'What do you want?' and the invitation of Jesus to 'Come and see' are worth holding onto and pondering over, as we begin this new year.