Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Can you see Christ in the Crowd? It’s a challenging question. John the Baptist does it so boldly in the Gospel today. John was actively on the lookout for the Son of God. He knew to look because he was in tune with God’s call, God’s voice, in his life. While John points to Jesus, the Son of God in the flesh, I think there is also a call to action for us today. In our daily routines, it is easy to look past people, and instead be in survival mode. “I gotta get x, y and z done today.” That’s understandable. There are a lot of demands that make us busy…sometimes (maybe often) we get busy without even trying to pack our schedule…it just happens. When I hear this question: “Can you see Christ in the Crowd?”, I receive it as a challenge to not only pause (which I definitely need to do more), but also to reframe my daily routine. What would my day look like if I walked through it with a compassionate awareness of people around me? If I saw them as people carrying a cross, or burden, and searching for meaning and belonging? I think it would be easier to find Christ in them if I took a step to be more intentional like that. And if we looked at people intentionally and compassionately as human beings who reflect the face of God…would that not make us more Christlike? What step can you take to be more intentional in how you approach people in the “crowds” of your daily routine? What can you do to be “on the lookout” for Christ in the crowd like John the Baptist?