Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Gospel Reflections B

After John had been arrested Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." 

· The arrest of John is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ same experience in the future.

· “The Gospel of God”: the plan of salvation that God will fulfill.

· Notice that Jesus’ ministry begins with the end of John’s public ministry. John said: “I must decrease. He must increase.”

· “Time of fulfillment”: Jesus is the promised one whom God said he would send as Savior of the world. All the prophecies about him are about to be fulfilled.

· “Repent and believe”: continues the prophetic themes of the OT. But now it is believe and commit yourself to the message Jesus preaches.

· Jesus proclaims that when a person gives oneself to Jesus and to his gospel way of life, God will bring about his kingdom in him/her. How have you experienced this already in your life?

· What is Jesus asking of you now?

· What do we need to repent of at this point in our spiritual journey?

· What aspect of the “gospel” do we need to make more realistic in our life?

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him. 

· According to John’s Gospel account, this was not the first encounter Simon, Andrew and John had with Jesus. Recall last Sunday’s Gospel.

· Mk’s account of the event is shorter and quicker. Mt and Lk tell us that they experienced the miracle of the marvelous catch of fish.

· Jesus invited them to follow him. Normally, disciples asked a Rabbi if they could follow and learn from him. Jesus shows that in relation to him, he gives the initial invitation of grace. Ours is a response.

· These were the first four to be called. Peter, James and John eventually became Jesus’ intimate inner circle.

· What do you think attracted these men to Jesus?  What attracts you most to Jesus?

· How quickly have we followed the call of Jesus in our life?

· In Mk’s Gospel one is to repent of sin, believe in the Good News of God’s love and follow Jesus. To what extent is this true in your life?

· How is God asking you to respond now to this new invitation?

We continue our reflection on the prayer of praise. There are a number of examples of people in the Old Testament praising God in the midst of personal, life-threatening difficulties. Read and reflect on Habakkuk 3:17-19. Or the case of Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego who refused to violate their covenant with God by worshipping a golden statue. They were bound and thrown into a white, hot furnace. Their response was to praise God. "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and your name is praiseworthy and glorious for all ages" (Daniel 3:26).

In the New Testament we have the witness of Paul and Silas. In jail in Philippi for preaching about Jesus, the two men began singing and praising God. An earthquake happened and their chains were broken. Read Acts 16:25-26. If we become a person of praise, what will happen to our relationship with God? The change will not take place on God's part, but ours. Our prayer life will become richer and our focus will be other.

As we continue our journey into this New Year 2021, we may find ourselves somewhat overwhelmed by what is happening in the world around us. We have the medical uncertainty of the spreading effects of the COVID 19 pandemic. Many people have died. We find ourselves as a nation living in a political nightmare of destruction and disunity. Many people have lost their source of income and are struggling to survive. There is a faith crisis among many as they question the relevance of organized religion.

Dark times and dire circumstances have been the lot of mankind from the beginning. And yet, there is a light that breaks through again and again. Strange as it may seem, this light is the prayer of praise. The Psalms became that light for the Chosen People, especially the hymns of praise. Instead of only petitioning God to deliver them from their oppressors, they turned to the Lord with words of praise and thanksgiving. For a start, today, pray one of the following psalms: psalm 148, 149, or 150 as part of your prayer time with God.

"Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent Gift...We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, an most precious gift. It is call gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship." (St. Gregory of Nazianzus)

Pope Francis said: "Baptism is the best gift we have received. Through it, we belong to God and we possess the joy of salvation." It is one of those gifts that keeps giving. For the sacramental graces, which we receive at the moment of baptism, are still  in effect right now, years later, if we are in union with God. How do we activate this grace? "We are called to live our baptism every day, as new creatures, clothed in Christ." (Pope Francis) Do we? Each time that we choose to do something for another in love we are activating the grace of baptism. Each time we do the will of God in the present moment, we are allowing the grace of baptism to enrich us. Each time we reject sin and live in union with God, we are tapping into the grace of baptism.

Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit at his conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary, his Mother. From that moment in his humanity, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit as an individual. After his Baptism in the Jordan as his public acceptance of the Father's mission for him, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus, anointing him in his humanity for his ministry. "And the Holy Spirit, in a corporal appearance like a dove, descended upon him." (Luke 3:22) In this the Spirit publicly testified that Jesus was the Christ. Pope Benedict XVI said: "He was not anointed with oil as were Israel's kings and high priests, but rather with the Holy Spirit."

When we were baptized, we were signed and sealed with the anointing of the Oil of Chrism, as a sign and power of the Holy Spirit. We received the sanctifying gifts of the Spirit for holiness. At Confirmation, we were again anointed by the Holy Spirit in our role as a witness for Jesus. How conscious are we of these anointings? How responsive are we in growing in holiness and being a public witness in the power of the Spirit? 

Homily: Second Sunday Year B

 

Reading 1: The prophet Samuel was a gift from God to his parents, who were without children for many years. After praying with great intensity, his mother was told she would conceive. Once the child was born and of age, around 12, is parents brought him to the Temple in Shiloh to serve the Lord. This is where we pick up our story.

 

God had special plans for Samuel. He was to be a prophet of the Lord.  At first, Samuel did not know how to hear or respond to the Lord. It was Eli, who discerned that God was calling Samuel. So he said for Samuel to respond the next time: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” When the young boy did, then God was able to prepare him for the prophetic role ahead. Samuel will anoint first Saul as king of Israel and then David.

 

The call from God is the same for each of us. God encounters us. He loves us first. So many things distract us, not allowing us to distinguish the inner voice of God calling us. But God waits for us to respond the same way as Samuel: I am your servant ready to do your will.  Like Samuel we must be willing to listen to the still voice of the Lord, to discern it as the voice of the Lord and to act on the world of the Lord. If so, maybe the same effect in Samuel’s life will occur in ours: “The Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.”

 

Gospel: The call of Samuel is reflected in the call of Andrew, John and Peter as well as in our own lives. It involves a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. The voice of God may be first heard through others like John the Baptist to Andrew and John. “Behold the Lamb of God.”

 

In the case of Peter, it was the invitation of his brother Andrew that led Simon to Jesus. Jesus intervene and invited them to get in touch with the grace of God stirring in their hearts.  What did Jesus share with them we do not know.  I speculate he shared his own story and what happened to him after his baptism. He shared how much the Father loved him and he loved the Father. He shared his awareness of his mission to bring the Good News of God’s love to others.

 

Andrew was so touched that he went to find his brother, Simon. He invited him to encounter this person, Jesus, who may be the Messiah. Jesus, in turn, encountered Simon by initiating a change in Simon’s life by giving him a new name. This was the first of many personal encounters with Jesus that made Simon, now Peter, to be transformed from being an unknown fisherman to the great Apostle and foundation of the Church.

 

God is calling each of us, encountering each of us. Like Peter we may initially resent or drag our feet in the process of transformation. We may fall short many times, but it is a journey of surrendering to the will of God. We belong to the Lord as his servant, who is called to do his will. In this relationship I don’t lose but gain true joy and fulfillment.

 

We just witnessed the simple process of what we call evangelization. Jesus invited Andrew and John to “Come and see”. They had an encounter with Jesus that changed their lives. Andrew sought his brother Simon and said, “Come and see.” He led him to an encounter with Jesus, who touched Peter’s heart.  It begins with a divine appointment, moments in our lives planned and set in motion by God for us to witness and bring others to Jesus.

 

Reading 2: What is that God wants us surrender? Our will, which can either choose to love God or to turn away from God and sin. When we sin we think we are expressing our independence and self-identity. But in reality, when we sin, we show ourselves slaves of our desires and tendencies and ultimately, slaves of Satan.

 

We forget that by virtue of creation we belong to God, who has given us life and the freedom to know what is good and right.  When we sin, we forget that it was Jesus who died on the cross and gave up his life to save us from eternal death, namely, alienation from God. We fail to remember that in baptism we became sons and daughters of God and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

 

As Paul reminds us, our bodies are not for immorality and self-indulgence, but to be holy and pleasing to God in thanksgiving for all God has done for us: creation, redemption and adoption. 

As Jesus, out of love f the Father,  embraced totally his call as our Messiah. He experienced in a fresh and  unique way the Father's love for him in his humanity. "And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my beloved Son. In you, I am well pleased.'" (Luke 3:22)  Some of the Fathers of the Church called this the kiss of the Father. This myth-experience sustained Jesus throughout his public ministry. It was probably the memory Jesus evoked on the Cross as he prayer Psalm 22. In spite of his sufferings he never lost sight of the Father's love for him.

We are the beloved sons and daughters of the Father. When we were baptized he adopte4d  us and spoke the same message: You are my beloved son/daughter in whom I am well pleased. Are we conscious of this kiss even today? Does the truth of who we really are--his beloved--sustain us in this present moment?