Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 18, 2026

A story is told about James Garfield, the twentieth president of the United States. In an earlier time, he was president of Hiram College in Ohio. He once was approached by the father of a young student seeking admission to the college. The father criticized the length and the difficulty of the required curriculum. “Can’t you simplify the course work? My son will never get through all this academic work. There should be a shorter route.”

Garfield replied, “I believe I can arrange such a plan, but it all depends upon what you want for your son. When God wants to make an oak tree, he takes a hundred years. And, when God wants to make a squash, he requires only two months.”

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Many years ago, there was a Broadway play, later made into a movie, entitled Fiddler on the Roof. It deals with a Jewish family and the larger community, within Russia. At a certain point, the authorities begin to drive the struggling Jewish people from the area. And so, they have to pack up their things and leave. One person says to the Rabbi, “Rabbi, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Messiah came?” The Rabbi reflects for a moment and responds, “Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait someplace else.”

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Many of us are not good at waiting. We lack patience when we have to wait in line at the post office or the bank, when we’re late for an appointment and the traffic is bumper to bumper. If it’s been a long day and you’re tired out, it’s harder to wait.

In today’s Responsorial Psalm there is this line: “I have waited, waited for the Lord, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God.”

For years, for centuries, the people had been waiting for a Messiah, or Savior, only to be disappointed time after time. Can you imagine, then, the significance of John the Baptist’s announcement in today’s gospel? “The one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

John has testified that the Son of God has come into our world, into our lives, and is with us. The waiting was worth it! Now, because of Jesus, our life is on a positive trajectory—not toward death and despair, but toward life and hope.

And yet, life can get pretty heavy and challenging. Especially in our time, when there seems to be so much cruelty, when those at the top don’t seem to care, a lot of people are ready to throw in the towel.

There’s a short poem I read recently that really spoke to me. Its title is Don’ Quit. Here’s the opening stanza:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

         When the road you’re trudging seems all up

                   hill,

         When the funds are low and the debts are high,

         And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

         When care is pressing you down a bit,

         Rest, if you must—but don’t quit.

[Clinton Howell, “Don’t Quit,” Fresh Packet of Sower’s Seeds: Third Planting, Brian Cavanaugh, T.O.R., 1994, Paulist Press.]

I know that when people are depressed and feeling discouraged, they don’t particularly want to hear poetry read to them. But this poetry is meant for us today. Can we be a positive force, enlightened by our faith, to help those who are thinking of quitting? Can we simply be there, listen patiently, and help to raise the spirits of someone who is despairing? The hardest way in which to deal with burdens is alone. Can we be there for each other?

If we are going to do that, our own faith needs to be strengthened. Take these words from Psalm 40 with you today, let them penetrate your minds and hearts: “I have waited, waited for the Lord, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God.”

Can you do that? Can you trust God. In the words of the poem: “Rest if you must—but don’t quit.”