Slim pickin’s today offered by the liturgy monkeys at the bishops’ conference, I don ‘t know why.  The Isaiah passage —

The LORD said to me: You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

— is pretty generic.  I mean, admirable sentiments and at the heart of belief, but nothing to inspire most of us short of extensive explanation, it seems to me.

Douay-Rheims has this, by the way:

[3] And he said to me: Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I glory. . . . .  [5] And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his servant, that I may bring back Jacob unto him, and Israel will not be gathered together: and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my God is made my strength.

[6] And he said: It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel. Behold, I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth.

Quite a bit more musical, of course.  It has soundbites, words to walk away with and mayhap recall during the day.  Like God’s being one’s salvation “even to the farthest part of the earth,” vs. that it “may reach to the ends of the earth.”  The farthest part.  I like that.

The reading from Paul is even more generic, even in part procedural, as goes the explanation, “Paul follows the conventional form for the opening of a Hellenistic letter,” which is helpful in its way.  But what else?  It “expands the opening with details carefully chosen to remind the readers of their situation and to suggest some of the issues the letter will discuss,” which is Bible study.

That’s the idea, apparently.  The Vatican 2 liturgy is to make every day a Scripture lesson, so as to make us more scripturally literate.  But the same people are going to church for consolation, self-improvement, encouragement, and the like as before.  Which is where soundbites come in.  Why do newspapers have headlines?  To get people to read the stories.

Finally, the gospel, from John 1, John the Baptist beholding Jesus as “the lamb of God,” etc.  Again the odious comparison with Douay-Rheims.  “[34] And I saw, and I gave testimony, that this is the Son of God”?  Or, currently, “34 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God”?  Gimme the first.

More substantially, contrast the selections for this “Second Sunday in Ordinary Time” (who thought that up?) with the long-ago Third Sunday after the Epiphany, which gives us the pithy Romans 12.16–21,

Be not wise in your own conceits. [17] To no man rendering evil for evil. Providing good things, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of all men. [18] If it be possible, as much as is in you, have peace with all men. [19] Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: Revenge is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. [20] But if thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink. For, doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.

[21] Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.

Dunno know where this turns up in the current cycle of readings, but I tell you, it sings: you are pissed off at someone?  Hah!  Returning good for evil is the best revenge!  Suck it up, you Christian, take your cue from The Apostle.

Or the olden-time gospel passage, Matthew 8.1–13, with tight narrative, hardly a word wasted:

[1] And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him: [2] And behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. [3] And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed. [4] And Jesus saith to him: See thou tell no man: but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them. [5] And when he had entered into Capharnaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him,

[6] And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grieviously tormented. [7] And Jesus saith to him: I will come and heal him. [8] And the centurion making answer, said: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. [9] For I also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. [10] And Jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him: Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel.

[11] And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven: [12] But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [13] And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And the servant was healed at the same hour.

I hope this selection also appears, even in one of our Sundays in ordinary time.