Sunday 24th Jan 2021 – 3rd Week of Ordinary Time
Sunday of the word of God. First Reading:
Jonah3:15.10. Ps. 25:4-5ab. 6 and 7bc.8-9
Second reading: 1Corinthians 7:29-31
Gospel: Mk 1:29-39.
The readings of Today are calling us to respond positively to the call of Christ with Immediacy, generosity and determination to change our life. The people of Nineveh responded positively when called to repent as we heard from the first reading. God saw their repentance and showed His great mercy towards them. The second reading reminds us that we have very little time remaining to respond to the call of Christ. The time is now; everything is ending very soon. In the Gospel Jesus began his ministry by calling us to repent our sins.
Mark continues and gives us an episode whereby the disciples responded to the call of Jesus with immediate effect. Was it possible that they responded with immediacy to a stranger as portrayed in the gospel of Mark? If you read the Gospel of John and other Gospels, you will realize that peter and his companions knew Jesus who had become popular in Galilee and Nazareth for His unique personality. Therefore, the aim of mark in this passage was one: to narrate the beginning of the public life
of Jesus. He begins by inviting people to repent in order to fit in the Kingdom of God. Dear Christians, just like the disciples, we all know Christ and all the wonderful deeds He has done to us, since we encountered Him in our Baptism. He is calling you to follow him and participate in promoting His kingdom. What is that preventing you from immediate response to the call of expanding His kingdom? Could it be the sins committed? The time has come! What are you waiting for? It is time to respond positively and invite others to celebrate the word, study the word and disseminate it. You are now the Jonah and God has called you for that mission. Are you ready to respond to this divine calling? If so, remember that He is not calling you to something as such but a calling to be away from something. What does this mean? Leaving the things of your past life and following the new way that the lord shows you. Remember, a blind person cannot lead another blind or else, you cannot give what you do not own. This is the reason behind leaving the net. Leave your old unrighteous way and follow the way of Christ. Jesus says, “Leave your nets…” one may think it is easy to leave our comfortable life. It is not easy at all; it demands a lot of determination to say, yes! I
am ready to follow the right path. Then Jesus continues to say, “…and I will make you fishers of men...” This is another complicated issue because it means forgetting the things and turning to the people. It is not easy because by nature, we tend to cling to things and side line people. Can you remember the moments you were not generous enough to respond to the needs of the people just because of your own businesses?
Perhaps you are a teacher and you forgot your students, perhaps you are a doctor and you left the patients unattended, perhaps you are a politician and you have no time for your people, perhaps you did not have time for Eucharistic celebrations because you were seeking things? You can add as many perhaps but the facts remains; these were the moments we held our nets firmly and not being ready to be fishers of men. Dear Christians, The time is now! Its time to listen to the gentle voice of Jesus who is telling each and every one of us , “come with me” and promote the kingdom of God in the people and not in things. He is telling you to believe in the good news that aims at changing hearts of people. The world around you will not be changed by the accumulation of things. It will be changed by touching other Human beings. He calls us to this kingdom of compassion and reaching out to others,
especially the poor and the needy. This is the kingdom everyone is called to promote. This kingdom is not a territory, but Jesus himself. Some of us avoid accepting this call out of unknown fear. You do not want to let it go and follow Jesus. One is not sure of the outcome, but Jesus is assuring us that if we have faith in Him, He will walk with us and we will lose nothing and he will make inheritors of His kingdom.
Let us pray
Dear Lord Jesus, I have always willed to respond to your call. Forgive me for the time I was not determined to change my life due to my own stubbornness. I renew my commitment to your call as I ask you to help me detach from everything that can hinder me from responding to your call with immediacy and with a generous heart. Grant me the grace of unity that I may think of your kingdom even in my daily endeavours.
Amen.
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