Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Intro: In the Gospel, Jesus simply says to His disciples, "Follow Me." Like those in today's Gospel, we come to this celebration of our Eucharist, conscious of the fact that Jesus calls each one of us to follow Him and build up His Kingdom.
Readings: The Galileans had been exiled in 732 B.C. Isaiah prophesies that one day the light of God's glory would shine on them once more, even in the most remote parts of the Promised Land, and God's Chosen People would once more be free from slavery.
Paul urges his Corinthian converts to heal the rifts and cliques which had developed among them, telling them that there's no room for division, because all are baptised in the one Christ.
Isaiah 8: 23 - 9:3;
1 Corinthians 1: 10-13, 17;
Matthew 5: 1-12;
Today's readings focus on the vulnerable northern territories of Israel - Zebulun and Naphtali - the first two territories to be crushed by invading Assyrians. Their
peoples had experienced the darkness of war, the shadow of violence and oppression by these foreign neighbours and the horrors of being defeated and conquered - much like today! Isaiah prophesied that one day God would confer
glory upon these same suffering lands - a great light would shine upon them, and there would be unbounded joy because warfare, defeat and death would all be ended.
It's with this same promise of deliverance made by Isaiah that Matthew opens his account of Jesus' public ministry, revealing his understanding of what He was sent to do. The Gospel teaches us how simple the whole notion of vocation is: Jesus approaches those He wants to be His followers, asks them a question ... and their immediate response is to follow Him - no questions ... no conditions .. no "could You just wait until ..."
It's only when they follow Jesus that they get a chance to see what He and His ministry are all about. There's probably much more to the calling of those four disciples than Matthew's snapshot reveals: they soon realised that they weren't perfect, that they all had their own personal darkness, their fear, their lack of understanding, their struggle to believe. Yet they were still captivated by the
words of the Master.
So if Jesus were to appear before us today, what answer would we give? Have we got the capacity to follow immediately? That's perhaps the most challenging part of living out our vocation in today's world - we feel unworthy or unprepared for the things God asks us to do.
The real question is not, "What answer would I give Jesus?" but "What answer have I given Him?" What's my vocation? What gifts has He put at my disposal to use in His service by changing the world, by changing myself?
Because Jesus chose simple Galilean fishermen and a tax collector to follow Him, we can be encouraged that we too have a part to play in the building up of the Kingdom, to follow Him, He never leaves us to get on with things on our own. He remains close to us, gently guiding and directing our footsteps. He never abandons us.
Today, each of us can hear God calling out to us, "Follow Me" What's my response going to be? Or again, "What has my response been?"
The Gospel challenges us to believe that God is still working to set His people free, and He is still calling on us to respond, asking us to share in the work of proclaiming the Good News and working to build up the Kingdom. Now He invites us to let His light shine into our own lives so that by our words and actions others may come to share in the joy of knowing the nearness of God and the security of His love.
The fishermen immediately left their old life and commitments to follow Him around Galilee, a highly fertile region with numerous large villages very much
open to trade with other peoples (hence, "Galilee of the nations"). The Sea of Galilee is a huge lake, some 23 miles long and 8 miles across. The word "Galilee" itself means "ring" and it was indeed ringed to the north, east and south by Phoenicians, Syrians and Samaritans, so that what happened there would very soon be well known to the gentile peoples of those lands - they would very soon hear all the "goss!"
Intercessions
Jesus cured all kinds of diseases and sickness among His people. And so we confidently bring our world's need for healing and wholeness before the Father:-
1. For the Church throughout the world, May all who believe in Your Son work together to preach the Gospel to that world - Lord, hear us.
2. For peace in our world. Where there is hatred, may Your Son light up the lives of those who live in the shadow of war, violence, occupation or injustice - Lord, hear us.
3. Give us a deeper respect for the dignity of every person, so that human lives and rights may always be upheld - Lord, hear us.
4. For ourselves. Help us to become more generous in responding to Your call, to give and not to count the cost - Lord, hear us.
5. For Monica McDuff, Eitish Kerrigan and Clare Ghammrawi who have died recently; and for those whose anniversaries we call to mind: Frank Lafferty, John Farrell, John & Mary Farrell. Free them now from the shadow of death, and bring them to the joy of fullness of light, happiness and peace in Your Kingdom - Lord, hear us.
Lord God, You never forget Your people. Look kindly on these prayers we make today, and grant them for the sake of Jesus Your Son.