III SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
ANNOUNCING GOD’S KINGDOM IMPLIES…
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
Every year in the first weeks of January there is a week dedicated to prayer and reflection for Christian Unity. And this is the week dedicated to that. There are so many different churches and divisions that have multiplied over history that many times we don’t know their roots. There is even a church which calls itself Christian which further confuses many Christians. There are so many churches, so many protestant, separated brothers and sisters. And today we hear the exhortation of Saint Paul who says strongly: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.” (1 Cor 1:10) In a world full of wars and divisions, even the churches continue to be divided; this is not the way of Christians. Jesus Christ founded only one Church. There are many more things that unite us than those that divide us, and so we pray with faith that the day will come where Christ’s hope becomes reality: “that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” (Jn 17:21)
I’m going to move on to the Gospel reading which is divided into two parts. The first part is the actualization of the first reading. “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.” (Mt 4:12-13a) In Saint Mark’s tradition he explains that Jesus began his active ministry once John the Baptist had been imprisoned. But John the Baptist and Jesus acted with different criteria. Jesus was a novelty, good news for those that had been walking in darkness and the shadows of death for centuries. And so the light did not come to Jerusalem, rather it appeared in Galilee, in the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali, which were well known as places open to paganism. It is in Capernaum where the novelty was first heard of the preaching of the Kingdom of God, of heaven, as the gospel of Saint Matthew affirms. And so the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled and hope is born for the pagans.
The second part of the Gospel passage is the call of the first disciples. Which is a consequence because in every place where the Gospel is preached there will be disciples. The time that is coming is the time of the gospel, of the good news, which demands a change in mentality and a complete trust (belief) in the gospel. Jesus wants to announce that this new time that is coming is the sovereignty of the saving and loving will of God for his people and for all people who accept the gospel.
This second part we could call a vocational text: “‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.” (Mt 4: 19-20) This is the great challenge for all Christians. Because God wants to reign in order to save, making peace and harmony possible. The kingdom of God, as Jesus announces it, represents the most radical transformation of values that had ever been announced. It implied radical conversion. And so Peter, Andrew, James and John leave everything and they follow Jesus. They literally left everything: ideals, life, family, everything.
This Sunday let us reflect on the challenges that the announcement of the Good News brings: first the unity of Christians, having one Lord and one baptism. Second is discipleship, following Jesus and completely renouncing oneself, putting Jesus at the center. May God give us the grace to recognize the image of God in our brothers and sisters. And may we respond to our call to the vocation that God has invited us to live. May God grant young people the ability to know how to choose their vocation. Amen.