Chapter 17 of Jeremiah is entitled: “The Sin of Judah and Its Punishment” and draws a sharp contrast between trusting in one’s own wisdom, abilities, and initiative and trusting in the Lord; between trusting in the world and trusting in God.

This week, our first reading deals with the call of Isiah to the prophetic office, and once again, Isaiah protests that he is unfit. He is a man of unclean lips living among people of unclean lips, and he has seen the glory of God upon his throne and is, therefore, doomed to die.

When something is presented to us, it is made manifest to us, and we expect to see it clearly because it is made apparent to our senses. But the physical senses only tell us how the object appears. To fully understand something, we must learn not only how it appears but also its value. We must understand the “why” as well as the “what.”

The combined works of Ezra-Nehemiah is probably the best source we have for information about the Jewish religious community after the Babylonian exile, a period referred to as the “Period of Restoration.”

We are again in the Season of Ordinary Time, as compared to an Extraordinary Liturgical Season such as Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter. Ordinary Time is far from ho-hum ordinary. It is distinguished from the Extraordinary Seasons in that, in general, there is a theme to be found in the readings for each of the individual 34 Sundays of OT.

This week, we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which is also the first Sunday of Ordinary Time. We will then be in Ordinary Time until we enter the Season of Lent on Ash Wednesday.

A dictionary definition of the word “Epiphany” would be something like: “A usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something.”  What we might call an “ah ha moment.”

The prophet Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and of Amos which places him in the mid-8th century B.C. Isaiah was active in Judah and, specifically, in the city of Jerusalem and Amos was found in the northern Kingdom of Israel.

The message of the Season of Advent is: Repent, and prepare in anticipation for the coming of Christ. We are to watch with anticipation and be prepared, through repentance of sins, for the day of the Lord.

Baruch is an enigmatic figure in the Old Testament because we really don’t know much about him or about the book that bears his name. What we do know is that Baruch was a scribe and close associate of the Prophet Jeremiah, often referred to as Jeremiah’s secretary, and was probably responsible for writing down many of Jeremiah’s prophesies.