Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: Called to live with purpose

Sunday, January 18, 2026

I sat in the pew today, smoothing down my skirt and trying to ignore the ever present mental distractions, when the Gospel hit me right between the eyes.

The point of view was that of John the Baptist, he of the locusts, camel hair, and singular, burning purpose. He existed for one reason: to point his finger away from himself and say, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”

As a self-confessed shopaholic and former social media addict, John’s life gives me a lot to ponder on. He was a man who knew exactly who he was, because he knew exactly who he wasn’t. He wasn’t the Christ; he was the herald.

This secular online world we inhabit screams at us the idea of self: self centredness and ego wrapped up in empowerment and self care. We’re encouraged to channel main character energy. Programmed to want the perfect life, family, job, or home, to be the one who has it all together. We want people to notice us, admire us, behold us.

But the Gospel call today was clear: we’re called to be a bit more like John the Baptist, who lived for the purpose he was created for. Called to point away from ourselves and toward God.

Living with purpose doesn’t mean we all have to move to the desert and eat insects (thank goodness). It means that in our frenetic daily lives – the endless grocery runs, chores, work, family repsonsibilities – our lives should be a giant neon sign pointing toward Jesus.

But how do we “show Christ” when just about everything in this world urges us to seek the opposite?

How do I “show Christ” when I sometimes struggle to navigate the neverending “in between”?

Maybe it’s as simple as kindness and patience. The grace we have for ourselves and others when frustration and disappointment are at the fore. The peace we seek by avoiding unnecessary conflict and debate. Reaching out to apologise when we know we were wrong.

John the Baptist lived a life of radical “less so He can be more.” As I grow older, and especially this past year, I’m realising that midlife could be the perfect time for that kind of shrinkage. My pride used to seek the spotlight, the likes and the follows. Lately however my soul is starting to crave the shadows, the quiet places where I try to live more humbly, where I can aim to be that person who, by their actions, points others toward the Light.

I don’t need to be the Lamb. I just need to make sure that when people encounter me, they get a glimpse of Him.

Help me, Jesus, to decrease so that You may increase.