III SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
CALLED TO CONVERSION
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
We are now in the third Sunday of ordinary time. Time has gone by fast. Following our spiritual journey I would say: two Sundays ago we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord and it is God who forgives our sins, makes us members of the Church and consecrates us as living temples of the Holy Spirit and makes us his sons and daughters. It is God who comes to us. Last Sunday it was about God’s invitation or calling and the free response of each one of us. It was about a response towards conversion. This Sunday however, we will reflect on the calling to conversion and in our conscious and free response in accepting the Lord.
Once again we encounter God’s divine mercy because it is God who sends Jonah to Nineveh: “‘Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,’ when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.” (Jon. 3:4b-5a). It is God who goes out to meet the sinner; he does not wait passively for the sinner to return but rather sends Jonah to denounce the sin, to announce the destruction that awaits them if they do not convert. After that, he waits with patience and sees the conversion and forgives. What god is more merciful than our God?
And so with the psalm we respond: “Your ways, o Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.” (Ps 25:4-5) Because knowing the path of God is only possible through the grace of God and to walk in his ways is a gift from Him. Every day we should ask for perseverance in our faith so that we may grow in friendship and in relationship with God our Father.
Years ago (I think during Holy Week of 1991) three of us seminarians were assigned to a small chapel. It was just the beginning of that community and the church was really simple. There was a bigger church under construction, so on Saturdays and Sundays many volunteers would come to continue the construction. The man who was in charge of directing the construction lived on the street where we passed by to get to the chapel. One Sunday morning (I think between 8 and 9am), when we passed by the house of the guy in charge of the construction he was working on his patio, drinking beer. Sergio, a fellow seminarian who I remember well, (he did not persevere in the seminary but is a good Christian), told him: “what a good deal for you! You drinking so early and letting the others do the work.” I don’t remember exactly what he answered, but it was something about never wanting anything to do with the Church. What I do remember is that he told us someone else would take his place in charge and that he wasn’t coming back. Sergio just said, “we’ll see you there!” And we continued on our way. About an hour later he showed up, without saying anything, started working and after a long while of working he said goodbye and no one said anything about it. He continued serving. That chapel was finished and now they have mass there every Sunday. I know that brother continues participating in that community and has never again thought about leaving the Church. When I have run into him he still remembers that incident fondly and appreciates that Sergio scolded him that day.
In the Gospel of Saint Mark he reminds us of the mission that we each have as Christians: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mk 1:17). If each one of us listens to the call of God and is converted to his love and mercy, then he invites us to transmit our faith and our joy. In that way, living the “joy of the Gospel” (Pope Francis) we are turned into fishers of men. Because conversion out of fear does not lead us anywhere but conversion out of love leads us to Jesus Christ and fills us with God’s presence. The Pope tells us: “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.” (EG 1)
Today I want to invite you to recognize that you are truly God’s son or daughter. Seek to be reconciled with yourself and with God. Remember brother, remember sister: God does not condemn us if we come to him repentantly, but rather forgives us and fills us with his grace. And with the joy of having Him as our Savior, we need to communicate it to others. The invitation of God, to be fishers of men, is for each of us who have heard his voice. Let us pray with the psalmist: “Your ways, o Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.” Amen.
Live the joy of the Gospel!