Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

To understand what today's Gospel says about gathering, we do need some background[1]. Perhaps you remember the three main places of the Geography of Faith: Egypt, the Desert and the Promised Land. From the humiliation and slavery of Egypt, God brings us into the Desert of Decision and then to our true home, the Promised Land[2].

Our Lord, as we see today, comes from the north –as a light into a place of darkness. He comes to reverse the Exile. He gathers the people - first the Jews, then the non-Jews. And how does Jesus gather people? Well, the first step in repentance. People lost the Promised Land because of sin: Instead of obeying God, they went after idols; for that reason Jesus says, “repent”, which means change your minds, turn back to God. Repent. That's the first step.

Then comes a second step. When Jesus sees Peter and Andrew, he looks them in the eye and says, “Follow me”. He needs help in gathering the people.

Most of you probably know that the name, Peter, means "rock." He is the rock on which Jesus builds his Church. But what about "Andrew"?  We need men like Andrew: husbands, fathers, hard-workers. We need people of all types –In all places - who hear Jesus say, Follow me, and we should never forget that Andrew has a brother, Peter. The successor of Peter is Pope Francis. He has an Apostolic Exhortation called, Evangelli Gauidum (The Joy of the Gospel)[3]. In it he speaks about God's desire to save every person and his plan for "gathering up all things in Christ." Then Pope Francis expresses his dream that the Church would embrace a "missionary impulse." Instead of focusing on "self-preservation," he says, we need to call people to "friendship with Jesus."

I share Pope Francis' dream. I dream that we will give Jesus first place in our lives. That we will hear him say, Follow me. And that we will do our part in gathering the people: Those who have become discouraged, those who have drifted from the faith. Families with small children, high school students and young adults. We have tough competition -a consumer society that promises fulfillment apart from God. Because of that false promise, many are falling into despair and misery. That's why we ask people, “Do you reject Satan? and all his works? And his empty promises?” at the celebration on the Sacrament of Baptism.

You and I can gather people; we have a role in the Big Story in the history of Salvation. If we take time for silence, for prayer, for Eucharistic adoration; if we repent and allow our Lord work through us, then by his power and his grace we can gather people. Jesus is the light for those living in darkness. Today he says, Follow me ■

---

[1] 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time A, January 26, 2014. Readings: Isaiah 8:23-9:3; Responsorial Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23.

[2] It is possible, however, to lose the Promised Land. That happens in 721 B.C. when Assyria overwhelms the Northern Kingdom and disperses the ten "lost tribes." We have a reference in the first reading: After the Exile, Gentiles (non-Jews) settle the Land of Zebulun and Napthali. The few Jewish people who remain in the north - and those move there, like Joseph and Mary - find themselves in a "land of gloom."

[3] http://www.vatican.va/evangelii-gaudium/en/index.html

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

All three of this Sunday’s readings present let us say an urgent call. Jonah preach to the people of Nineveh about repentance and conversion. St. Paul tells the Corinthians that time is running out, and Jesus begins his preaching by proclaiming The time of fulfillment is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel and He then calls his first disciples, Simon and Andrew, James and John.

Last weekend we talked about morality, in particular sexual morality, today I would like to reflect on the Faith, because faith demands consequences, in other words: we cannot be people of faith if we do not speak out against immorality. We cannot be people of faith, if we allow our government to continue any immoral practice. Today we American Catholics remember the horrible anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the decision of the Supreme Court to allow abortion. Those who march and protest throughout the country do so because they are people of faith and people who deeply love their country. They cannot sit back and allow lies and evil and death to continue.

It is the same for every issue: as Catholics we cannot sit back and be non committal to evil around us. Where and when we see evil, we have to react against it. Why? Well, because faith demands consequences, demands action.

When Jesus called Simon and Andrew, James and John, you and me, He did call us to do something and to be something. He called us to be disciples, to give testimony. Why do you train your children in the faith? Why do you guard against immorality in your home? Why do you worship God daily in your homes and weekly here at St. Vincent de Paul? We do what we do because this is who we are, we are Catholics and even though we are a minority in this country, it is necessary that we give witness to our faith, our beliefs.

That is why we feel so disjointed when our human limitations take over and we give in to evil. We lose our sincerity, our integrity, when what we do is opposed to whom we are. But when we respond to that call of Christ within us to be Christian in all our actions, then our actions reflect our inner life, the life of Jesus Christ we have been called to embrace. Then we become whom He created us to be.

People who are determined to live the truth of whom they are, people who are determined to live vocationally, are the most dynamic force in history. Their lives don’t just become history; they become His Story, the story of God at work in the world. And that is what Catholicism is about. We want to change the world into God’s world. We are willing to do what we need to do to be whom we have been called to be.

The call of Faith, or vocation as Christians is urgent, just as the call to faith was urgent for the first disciples, for the people of Corinth, for the people of Nineveh. Faith has consequences. Faith is dynamic. Faith is counter cultural. Faith changes the world. Faith is manifested in the integrity of men and women who live who they are.

May we have the courage to be people of faith ■