THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

[cappie]

John the Baptist was arrested and imprisoned. For Jesus, the time had come. Firstly, He left Nazareth and he took up residence in the town of Capernaum. In that moment, Jesus left his home never again to return to live in it. It was the clean cut one chapter was ended and another had begun. He went into Galilee to begin his mission and his ministry, Galilee was densely populated. So, then, Jesus began his mission in that part of Palestine where there were most people to hear him. Of all parts of Palestine, Galilee was most open to new ideas. History had compelled Galilee to open its doors to new strains of blood and to new ideas and to new influences. The natural characteristics of the Galileans, and the preparation of history had made Galilee the one place in all Palestine where a new teacher with a new message had any real chance of being heard, and it was there that Jesus began his mission and first announced his message.

The message of Jesus consisted of a command which was the consequence of a new situation. “Repent!” he said. “Turn from your own ways, and turn to God. Lift your eyes from earth and look to heaven. Reverse your direction, and stop walking away from God and begin walking towards God.” That command had become urgently necessary because the reign of God was about to begin.

The coming of God’s Kingdom is good news for the poor.

Why exactly were Peter and Andrew and John and the others so eager to quit fishing for fish and start fishing for people? It seems remarkable how quickly they respond to Jesus’ invitation. “Follow me,” Jesus says, and Matthew tells us, “immediately they left their nets and followed him.” They give up their livelihoods without a second thought to follow an itinerant preacher around the Galilean countryside.

It was these ordinary men whom Jesus chose. Once there came to Socrates a very ordinary man called Aeschines. “I am a poor man,” said Aeschines. “I have nothing else, but I give you myself.” “Do you not see,” said Socrates, “that you are giving me the most precious thing of all?” What Jesus needs is ordinary folk who will give him themselves. He can do anything with people like that.

Further these men were fishermen. Good fishermen must possess qualities which will turn them into the good fishers of people.

(i) They must have patience, to wait patiently until the fish will take the bait. The good fisher of people will have need of patience. It is but rarely in preaching or in teaching that we will see quick results. We must learn to wait.

(ii) They must have perseverance. To learn never to be discouraged, but always to try again. The good disciple must not be discouraged when nothing seems to happen.

(iii) The fisherman must have courage. As the old Greek said when he prayed for the protection of the gods: “My boat is so small and the sea is so large.” The good disciple must understand there is always a danger in telling the truth.

(iv) They must have an eye for the right moment. The wise fisherman knows well that there are times when it is hopeless to fish. To know when to cast and when not to cast. The good disciple chooses the moment. There are times when people will welcome the truth, and times when they will resent the truth. The wise disciple knows that there is a time to speak and a time to be silent.

(v) Finally, the wise fisherman must keep themselves out of sight. If he obtrudes his own shadow, the fish will certainly not bite. The wise disciple always seeks to present people, not with themselves, but with Jesus Christ. The aim is to fix people’s eyes, not on themselves, but on that figure beyond.

We 21st Century Catholics have the benefit of seeing the witness provided by the early Apostles and early Christians. From our perspective, we see the abundant fruit of apparent failures. Jesus looked like a failure when He preached His most eloquent homily from the cross on Calvary. The other Apostles saw growth from their efforts, even though they were persecuted for their efforts.

We see from the Gospels that God is Father who keeps his promises. Yet we are slow to believe, and even slower to respond to His call. We are not as prompt as we should be when God calls each of us. God knows how little faith we have. God in His mercy, reveals his plan gently. He knows our weaknesses better than we do. We could not handle the plan all at once, due to our sinfulness, ignorance, and weakness. But God can do a lot with a little good will, if we show Him that we want to follow Him. It’s only because he has called us to be his followers that we will have this opportunity to receive God himself at Holy Communion.

When we do, we can thank him for not giving up on us, for continuing to call us – and we can promise him that this week we will listen with extra attention.

[Guest]

Thank you very much once again, cappie.  My kind of homily - right up my alley.  Historical background, spiritual info/guidance with encouragement but not withholding any negatives.