Cycle A - Year I

22 January 2017: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read  Matthew 4:12-23

The proclamation of God's kingdom!

The liturgy takes us back to Ordinary Times, after a series of solemnities or special feast days following our observance of the Christmas season. And today is the third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Let's have a short refresher. In the Catholic liturgical calendar Ordinary Time is that part in the yearly cycle of 33 or 34 weeks in which no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated. Instead, the focus is on the mystery of Christ in all its fullness. The liturgical color of the priest's vestment and the altar cloth changes to green.

In the Gospel narrative by St. Matthew, Jesus begins His public ministry in Galilee when He heard that John the Baptist has been arrested by authorities. He begins the preach about the kingdom, picking up from John's message of repentance. Thus, Jesus tells His listeners to repent and believe in the good news of God's kingdom.

By repentance Jesus challenges His followers to change direction and priorities in life. Because repentance requires a life-change and a transformation of heart and mind. It is not just turning away  from the old sinful ways but more on turning to a new life by believing in the good news of the Gospel. It is through repentance that the human person finds true liberation -- freedom from the wages of sin and the discovery of authentically integrated life in Christ.

To believe is to take Jesus at His word as He proclaims the good news of God's kingdom, to believe that God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to redeem us from the slavery of sin and death.

What, then, is the good news that Jesus came to proclaim? It is the good news of peace (meaning, restoration of our relationship with God), the good news of hope in the resurrection and heaven, the good news of truth (because God's word is true and reliable), the good news of promise and rewards for those who seek Him, the good news of immortality (for God gives everlasting life), and the good news of salvation (which means liberty from sin and freedom to live as sons and daughters of God.)

The second and last part of today's Gospel narrates how Jesus calls

His first recruits as apostles. They were ordinary fishermen in the Sea of Galilee casting their nets into the sea: Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, and two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee and his brother, John. Our Lord Jesus calls them and they immediately left their boat and their father, without question, and followed Jesus.

And so, by our own baptism we, too, are called to continue the mission that Jesus began in Galilee. Through our authentic Christian living we proclaim the Good News of God's kingdom in our time by becoming witnesses of God's love, especially for the poor and the suffering people in our midst.

Let us heed Jesus' call to repentance and follow Him.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!