THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

[cappie]

If you follow a newspaper or some online news source TV or radio, you do not presume that the news you learn will be good news and that is as true today as it was in Jesus’ own day.  Which is why the news that people heard on Jesus’ lips was compelling: because it was so good.  He called it that – good news.   

The Gospel for today gives us a picture of the response to Jesus’ good news by two pairs of brothers, Simon and Andrew, and James and John.  These are career fishermen.   Did they have good family and social relationships?  Were they active and in good standing in their religious practice?  We have no idea.  What we do know is that something happened in their encounter with Jesus. 

It is like their souls had been primed for something new, and what they uniformly heard from Jesus was such compellingly good news that they dropped everything.  Literally.  The adverb used to describe their response to Jesus’ invitation is “immediately.”  All four of them.  “Immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus.”  Jesus invited them to follow him, and they did, with all their heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.

 But where is the good news in Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, having just been arrested?   This clearly does not bode well for other people associated with Jesus. John is beheaded by the authorities, which hardly good news for anyone.  The other curiosity, why people would find Jesus’ news so good and so immediately compelling, was his repeated use of the word, “repent.”  The verb “repent” has a little sting.  To repent is about changing your mind.  Whatever you are thinking, you have got it wrong.  You need to repent, to change your mind and believe something new, namely, some good news. Believe the good news on Jesus’ lips.

1)     What is so compellingly good is  simply being found by Jesus.  Called by Jesus.  Included by Jesus.  Loved by Jesus.  These four fishermen are not hearing Jesus say when they get their act cleaned up, when they get their boats in order, he will have time for them.  That would be mixed news.  No, Jesus’ invitation is to them in real time, as we would say. 

And it is true for you, too.  There is no kind of pre-existing condition that you must satisfy before Jesus will call you, include you, love you, make plans with you.  Jesus comes to us, like to these simple fishermen, and what Jesus finds in us he adores.  We need not change to be loved by Jesus; but by being loved by Jesus we will change.  Jesus’ love certainly changed Peter and Andrew, James, and John, and it is true also for you.   And what we see and hear in Jesus is God’s love… for you: love without qualification.  And that’s really good news for you and for us all.

2)     Secondly, the verb “repent”  does have a little sting of judgment.   Except what Jesus is saying to these fishermen, and to us, is that you have unwittingly embraced bad news, and the bad news is about you, and it is not true.  Change your mind.   Jesus’ use of the verb “repent” implies a judgment on us all, but it is a judgment of love.  Take that in;  All that bad stuff you learned to think about yourself, your unworthiness, your hopelessness, all that bad news is not true about you.  Jesus has come to personally deliver good news.  In Jesus’ day this amazingly good news changed their minds, and broke open their hearts, and they followed him in droves.

3)     Lastly,  that Jesus loves you may be old news stored somewhere in the archives of your soul.  If pushed, you might say Jesus used to love you or that Jesus’ love for you is theoretically true for the most part.  Well, this is news for you, today, now.  Jesus loves you.  If you did not wake up today with that awareness,  Jesus has news for you, good news.  God loves you.  Has big plans for you that span eternity. 

 In the meantime,  His invitation to all of us is simply to follow.  Your life will unfold day-at-a-time.  That is pretty much all we can deal with.  Just take Jesus at his word: he loves you, and he is with you always.  And between the two of you – Jesus operating and you co-operating – your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength will be infused by Jesus’ light and life and love.  The truth of that good news will change your life for the better; much better.  It will give you hope for the future, what you cannot yet see;5 and it will make a world of difference.