THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
26 JANUARY 2020
Eight
centuries before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah described the dire
status of the two northern tribes of Israel, Zebulun and Naphtali. The people of these tribes were walking in a
terrible darkness. The kingdom of
Assyria had invaded their territory, killed many residents, and dragged into
exile the remaining population. To provide hope, Isaiah promised that those who
walked in darkness would see a great light.
He promised that God would bring them abundant joy and great
rejoicing. Instead of having their
harvest destroyed by enemies, they would rejoice again at their own
harvest. They would make merry as they
divided spoils. The rod of their
taskmasters would be smashed, and they would enjoy freedom.
Because the readers of the Gospel
of Saint Matthew are Jewish Christians, they would be familiar with Isaiah’s
promises. He tells them that this
prophecy has been fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. The promised Messiah is not from the
prominent southern tribes of Judah or Benjamin, but from the insignificant
tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali in Galilee.
Those who accept the words of Jesus that the kingdom of God is at hand
are moved by his miracles and respond with repentance. The two sets of brothers, Peter and Andrew
and James and John, express their repentance by leaving everything to follow
the new light they have seen in the person of Jesus Christ. They leave their families, their occupations,
and the comforts of their daily existence to become part of the kingdom of God
in their midst.
Through
this same Gospel, Jesus is calling us to become more intentional
disciples. As we open our ears and our
hearts to the Gospel of Saint Matthew this year, he will invite us to let go of
whatever hinders us from accepting his message of salvation. He will call us to repent of those habits and
behaviors that keep up from living moral lives.
He will call us to repent of the ways in which we fail to see through
eyes of faith the Kingdom of God already in our midst. In other words,
repentance implies that we embrace more completely the person of Jesus Christ
given to us by the Holy Spirit at our Baptism.
In
writing to the Corinthians, Saint Paul provides specific ways of
repenting. Paul knew that there are many
factions and divisions in the Church of Corinth. He addresses those threats to the unity of
the Body of Christ by insisting that their fellowship must be based on the
person of Jesus Christ, and not on the various leaders in the community. He says the same to us. There are many factions in our Church causing
division today. Some favor Pope Benedict
over Pope Francis. Others identify
themselves as progressive or traditional.
Some argue for the return of the Latin Mass. Even within Catholic Social Teaching, there
are conflicts about the different priorities of respecting the dignity of each
human person made in the image of God.
Within the divisions found in the
broader Catholic Church and of the many ministries of our parish family, there
is a rich diversity. Where there is
diversity, there is also the potential for conflict and division. We can put the words of Saint Paul into
action this week. When a friend asks us
for the hundredth time to make the Christ Renews His Parish Retreat, we might
actually listen and talk honestly instead of ignoring that person. We might even begin the practice of praying
for guidance to see how God is calling us to use our gifts for the common good
of the parish. When we follow the advice
of Saint Paul, we realize that the source of our faith must be rooted in Jesus
Christ and our conviction that the Kingdom of God is present in him through the
power of the Holy Spirit. Then, we become more intentional disciples,
permitting the light of Christ to shine more fully through us in a world broken
by war, racism, hatred, and sin. The
prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled, and we can be the witnesses of the
person of Jesus Christ.
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