Third Sunday Ordinary Gospel A

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 
· Jesus had gone down to the Jordan in Judea where John was baptizing. Now, he returns to Galilee to begin his own ministry. It was safer for Jesus to minister in Galilee rather than Judea.
· John’s official ministry ends and Jesus’ begins. John had already realized this when he said: “I must decrease and he must increase.”

He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. 
· One of the characteristics of Matthew’s Gospel is to show that Jesus fulfills the prophetic word of the Old Testament.
· Zebulun was the 10th son of Jacob and Naphtali was the 6th son. The area of Galilee was the portion of the Promised Land given to these two tribes.
· Isaiah was prophesying about the coming of the future Messiah as a light to a land of darkness. 

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 
· John the Baptist proclaims a message of repentance in anticipation of the immediate coming of the Messiah. Jesus preaches a message of repentance in order to enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. 
· In Matthew’s Gospel this is the first encounter between Jesus and the future disciples. In John’s Gospel, Jesus has already evangelized Andrew and has encountered Simon. It must not have been a life-changing experience because he goes back fishing.

He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
· What was different with this encounter? Jesus gave them an invitation to become his disciples and to join him in the work of evangelization.
· Matthew said they immediately left all and followed Jesus. Another Gospel indicates that it was more dramatic than that. It was after the marvelous catch of fish that convinced them to follow Jesus.

 He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. 
· Jesus has called us to be his disciples. How quickly and totally have we responded?

He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
· The ministry of Jesus was simple and straightforward. He taught wherever he could, he preached the message of truth and he healed as a sign of the full salvation to come.
· Having reflected on this passage what application do we make in our lives?