2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Despite the fact that Sunday readings in Ordinary Time are not thematically linked, in terms of the Second Reading being organized sequentially independent of the other two, I discern an important pastoral and theological point in the combination of all the readings for today. The First Reading speaks of the discernment of God's call while the Gospel tells us of conversion and discipleship. The Second Reading helps us to understand the implications of these stages in the Christian life. Just as the Incarnation brings about the sanctification of the whole of the human person so our conversion and discipleship transforms the whole of our lives including our sexual behaviour: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (1 Cor 6: 19)  In this we realize that the struggle with our disordered appetites, arising from concupiscence, is an ongoing battle. We must never surrender to sexual or other forms of immorality but ever strive to bring the whose of our lives under the loving rule of our heavenly Master whose teachings are articulated for us by the Church. The key to victory is not through self-denial or scrupulosity but through gratitude: "For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body." (1 Cor 6: 20)