Schooler's Sagacity and Senility: Homilies from Fr. Bill

THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

15 JANUARY 2017

     

          On this weekend of the NFL playoffs, coaches use an interesting phrase:  “next one up.”  The Season is long and brutal, taking a toll on the physical wellbeing of players.  When a player is hurt, the coach calls for the next one up to replace the injured player.  It makes no difference whether that player is a star or a little known lineman.  The next one up must know the unique role of each player.  The next one up steps in to perform a vital task for the sake of the team.

            Saint Matthew tells us that John the Baptist had been arrested.  Unlike the religious leaders of his day, he had the courage to deliver to King Herod Antipas the same message he had preached to the common folk.  He tells the king:  it is wrong for you to live with your brother’s wife!  Turn away from your sin!  Just as his father had eliminated all his “rivals” in the area of Bethlehem at the birth of Christ, Herod Antipas arrested John, threw him in prison, beheaded him, and then served his head on a platter to the daughter of his wife, who wanted revenge.

            Now Jesus is the next one up.  Instead of being afraid of what happened to John, he continues to proclaim the same message:  Repent!  As the next one up, he makes two significant changes.  The first change involves his message.  John the Baptist had preached repentance to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.  Now, Jesus (the Messiah) calls for repentance, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  The second change is where he preaches:  in Zebulun and Naphtali.  Eight centuries before, the prophet Isaiah addressed the people living there.  King Ahaz had refused to trust in God alone, he had ignored Isaiah’s advice and put his trust in an alliance with the king of Assyria.  That alliance led to the destruction of the northern kingdom, the enslavement of the people, and the resettlement of gentiles who renamed the area.  Isaiah told his people not to repeat the mistake of King Ahaz.  Trust in God, he had said, do not be afraid, and walk from the darkness of enslavement into the bright light of freedom.

            This is the message of Jesus.  Through his preaching and miracles, he gives people an insight into the kingdom of heaven.  In calling them to repentance and trust in him, he promises membership in a kingdom that is not about a physical place, but a profound relationship with him.  He makes this promise not only to the gentiles who live in this area, but also to the two sets of Jewish brothers.  Peter and Andrew and James and John become the next ones up when they drop their nets and decide to follow Jesus Christ.  They become the next ones up not because they are impressed with the teaching of a great rabbi, but because they have encountered the person of Jesus Christ and trust in his promise to make them members of the kingdom of heaven.

            Today, Jesus is calling each one of us to be the next ones up.  He has already joined us to him through the waters of Baptism.  Now, he invites us to take another step in faith.  Just as he called the two sets of brothers to abandon their nets and trust in him, he calls us to abandon whatever nets keep us from being more intentional disciples.  Those nets might be a fear of casting aside ambitions to spend more time with family or investing in relationships at the cost of financial gain.  They might even include a fear of getting more involved in the parish or a habit of coming to Mass just to fulfill an obligation.  To quote Saint Paul, we are not here because our children were baptized by FB1 or FB2.  We do not practice our faith because we liked Saint John Paul II, or Pope Benedict, or even Pope Francis.  We are here, because we have encountered the person of Jesus Christ.  If that encounter remains our focus, then we can trust that Jesus Christ can heal any divisions among us.  That is good news, especially as we endure the hardships of celebrating Mass in a gym for the next three months.  That is good news, especially as we begin the work of healing the deep divisions so evident in our country these days.