Cycle A - Year II:  

26 January 2020: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Isaiah 8:23--9:3

Second Reading:   1 Corinthians: 1:10-13, 17

Gospel:  Please Read  Matthew 4:12-23

"To proclaim God's kingdom!"

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

A short refresher on the Church's liturgical calendar:  What do we understand by Ordinary Time?

Well, 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 vestments and the altar cloth changes to Green.   

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

By repentance our Lord Jesus challenges His followers to change direction and priorities in life.  Because repentance requires a life-change and a transformation of heart and mind.  Now 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 our Lord Jesus Christ 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.

So then we ask, "What is the good news that Jesus came to proclaim?"  It is the good news of peace (which means 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 (because God gives everlasting life!), and the good news of salvation (meaning, liberty from sin and freedom to live as sons and daughters of the almighty God.)

Now the second 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 later called Peter, and his brother Andres, 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.

In the same way, by our baptism, we, too, are called to continue the mission that Jesus began in Galilee with a handful of apostles.  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.

Today is also Sunday of the Word of God and National Bible Sunday.  Let us therefore actively participate in the Church's mission of proclaiming God's word by our habit of reading and reflecting on God's word in the Holy Bible.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!