Cycle B - Year I:  

24 January 2021: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Second Reading:   1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Gospel:  Please Read  Mark 1:14-20

"God invites us to His kingdom!"

We are back to the liturgical calendar of Ordinary Time after a series of solemnities or special feasts during the Christmas season.  This Sunday is the third in Ordinary Time.

First, a refresher about the liturgical calendar.  Ordinary Time is that part in the yearly cycle of 33 or 34 weeks in which there is no particular aspect of the mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ being celebrated, but rather the mystery of Christ in all its fullness is observed.  The liturgical color of the priest's vestment and the altar cloth changes to Green, symbolic of life.

The Gospel this Sunday by St. Mark narrates the beginning of Jesus' public ministry after His baptism in the River Jordan.  When John the Baptist had been arrested and imprisoned, Jesus came to Galilee, His home district, to proclaim the Gospel of God.

Our Lord takes off from John's preaching on repentance as He proclaims: "This is the time of fulfillment,  The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." (Mk 1:15)

Let us meditate on the liturgical theme for this Sunday about repentance.  Now repentance requires a life-change and a transformation of heart and priorities in life.  The emphasis is not just turning away from our old sinful ways but more on turning to a new life by believing in the good news of the Gospel.  For it is through repentance that the human person finds true liberation -- freedom from the wages of sin and the discovery of authentic integrated life in Christ.

Now, to believe is to take our Lord Jesus Christ at His words 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, to believe is to trust that God never abandons us even in time of adversities.  In the words of Pope Francis, Jesus is with us even in suffering and trials.  Because the Lord brings us through sufferings to purify us.  And this is a timely reminder for all of us especially during this pandemic.

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

The second part of the Gospel narrates how our Lord Jesus calls His first recruits as apostles. Jesus calls four fishermen at the Sea of Galilee -- Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and two other brothers James and John, sons of Zebedee.

When our Lord Jesus called them to follow Him, they immediately left their boat and their fathers and followed Jesus.  We don't know what there was about Jesus that led the four, and others, to leave their homes and families to follow Jesus.  There was something remarkably compelling about our Lord Jesus to cause these four fishermen and others to follow Him into an uncertain future.

It is also worth noting that that our Lord recruited two sets of brothers to be His first followers.  It speaks of such important role of the family in proclaiming God's kingdom and that the seed of every vocation is really in the family.

In our own generation, God invites us to be His disciples as by our baptism we are called to continue the mission that Jesus began in Galilee.  As lay people, and through our authentic Christian living we proclaim the Good News in our time and become witnesses of God's love, especially for the poor and the suffering people in our midst.  

This Sunday the Church celebrates Bible Sunday. We are invited to deepen our faith through reading of God's word.  Let us keep the habit of frequent reading and meditating on the Word of God under the faithful guidance of our Mother Church.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!