Fishers of Men

                   3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  A cycle

 

 

 

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom

a light has shown.

 

These words from the prophet Isaiah are repeated in today’s gospel reading. It is clear that the St. Matthew believed that Jesus was the light that Isaiah referred to, and since that time Christians have agreed with him.

 

It is not just that Jesus, the light of the world, will dispel darkness and gloom but that he will be a healer. In the words of Isaiah,

 

For the yoke that burdened them,

The pole on their shoulder,

And the rod of their taskmaster

You have smashed.

 

Practically the first thing that Jesus does when he sets out on his public mission is to call disciples to follow Him and assist Him in His work of healing. In today’s gospel we see Him walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He sees Peter and his brother, Andrew. They were fishermen and He says to them, “come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.” We are told, “At once they left their nets and followed Him.” Immediately after, he saw two other fishermen, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and called them as well. Again we are told, “Immediately they left their boat and their father and followed Him.”

 

What strikes me most about this passage is how quickly they were converted. They did not require instruction or lessons in theology. They did not have to go through an extended course of study. They seemed to have asked no questions or made any inquiries about His background. From what follows in the gospels we know that these first disciples did not have a clear idea of who He was or what He was going to do. Like most of us when we embark on life’s great adventures, they did not know what they were getting into or where they would wind up.

 

There must have been something about Him that made them immediately give up their jobs and families to follow Him. There was something that led them to put their full faith in Him.

 

This passage reminded me of a book I read about Brother Andre, a recently canonized Canadian saint, who had as little theological knowledge and book learning as his namesake, Andrew, in today’s gospel. Andre was a poor orphan who received practically no education beyond what his mother taught him before she died when he was only 12. Thereafter, he had to work to help support himself and help out with his brothers and sisters. Eventually, a local priest, impressed with his holiness, asked the Holy Cross Fathers in Montreal to take him in. Since he did not appear to be very intelligent, he could not even be made a brother, but they gave him a job as doorkeeper or porter at their school.

 

To make a long story short, within a few years people were flocking to the school because Andre had gained the reputation as a healer. Some would come on crutches but go away walking on their own, leaving their crutches behind. Many of these crutches can still be seen today in St. Joseph’s Oratory, the magnificent church eventually built to accommodate all the pilgrims who wanted to visit him. When Brother Andre died in 1937 over a million people filed by his casket.

 

I mention Brother Andre because during his whole life he denied that he was a miracle worker possessed with great healing powers. Like Jesus, Andre often used material objects like oil and medals in healing people but he also denied that these had any magical powers. He had a special devotion to St. Joseph and asked all who came to him to pray to St. Joseph but even that he regarded as only a means for them to enhance their faith in Jesus, the light of the world. Andre always gave the credit for all of his accomplishments to faith in Jesus Christ.

 

In today’s second reading St. Paul does the same thing. He says to the Corinthians that it has come to his attention that some of them place their faith in him; that others believe in Apollos, or in Peter. He is shocked at this development. 

 

Was Paul crucified for you?

Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

 

A few years ago, in my own parish a beloved pastor had to retire after 18 years for health reasons. Tears ran down faces when the announcement was made. His farewell Mass and reception were packed. He had been a compassionate pastor as well as a wonderful homilist. He had a knack for involving people in every aspect of parish life. He was also a skilled and thrifty administrator who had taken the parish out of debt, and left it with a large surplus.

 

Nevertheless, I never heard him claim any credit for himself. If you asked him, I’m sure he would have said that anything he had accomplished was due to Christ working through him. The last thing he would want is for people to leave their parish community because he had had to leave. In today’s gospel we are told that Jesus is still here, “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.”

 

###

Reading 1. Isaiah 8: 23-9:3

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 1: 10-13, 17

Gospel. Matthew 4: 12-23 (fishers of men).

In the Synagogue

                   3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  C cycle

 

 

Today's first reading from the Book of Nehemiah gives us a glimpse of an ancient Jewish religious practice. The whole assembly of the people of God come together on one of the high holy days to hear the word of God.  The scribe stands on a high platform similar to our pulpit, opens a scroll since books were not yet invented, and commences to read "plainly from the book of the law of God." The purpose of the reading which lasts from daybreak to midday is to remind them of the law, their inheritance.

 

This first reading today obviously ties in with the Gospel reading from St. Luke. Every three years when we come to Cycle C in the readings we will find that most of the gospel readings come from St. Luke. Although not one of the original apostles, Luke was a disciple of St. Paul. Shortly before his death Paul wrote to Timothy, "Make haste to come to me; for Demas has deserted me, loving this world...Luke only is with me." Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles which is mainly an account of St. Paul's missionary journeys. 

 

Christian artists have usually used four symbols to depict the four Evangelists. St. John is depicted as an Eagle since theologians regarded him as reaching closer to the heavens because his gospel seems to be the most mystical. St. Matthew is portrayed as a winged Man because his gospel begins with the human genealogy of Christ. St. Mark is portrayed as a winged Lion because his gospel begins with John the Baptist, a voice crying out or roaring in the desert. Luke is portrayed as a winged Ox because theologians believed that his gospel emphasized the sacrificial nature of Christ's mission.

 

At the outset of his gospel Luke states his credentials. His information comes from "eyewitnesses from the beginning," and from "ministers of the word" who have handed the teaching down. After "investigating everything accurately anew" he proposes to write down his own narrative "in an orderly sequence" 

 

      so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings

      you have received.

 

After this brief introduction today's reading jumps to chapter 4 in Luke's gospel. We skip over the story of our Lord's infancy (which we heard at Christmas), and the Temptation in the Desert which the Church saves until the first Sunday in Lent. In chapter 4  we find Jesus at the outset of his public life. He has returned to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit" and the whole region is aware of Him. "He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all."

 

Then one day on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue at Nazareth (according to his custom) and like Ezra in the first reading He stood up to read. He was handed a scroll and we can picture Him unrolling it until he came to the specific passage from Isaiah that He wanted to read, a passage that outlines His sacrificial mission:

 

      The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

      because he has anointed me

      to bring glad tidings to the poor.

      He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives

      and recovery of sight to the blind,

      to let the oppressed go free,

      and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

 

This mission is His but as members of His Mystical Body it is also ours. St. Paul reminds us in today's reading from Corinthians that we, whatever our rank or station, are all parts of the Body of Christ.

 

      For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,

      whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,

      and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

 

Not only do we all have our individual roles to play, we also have to be concerned for one another.

 

      If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;

      if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

 

This is one of the reasons why it is so important for us to come together here just as the Israelites did in the time of Nehemiah. Every hour of every day a Mass is being celebrated somewhere in the world by people of every race and culture. No society on Earth is as diverse as our Church. Male, female, young, old, families, celibate monks and nuns, all are welcome. All it takes for membership is Baptism. 

 

It is so important for us to see each other here. For our young people what better example can they see than an elderly couple walking out of Church still holding hands after years of love and devotion to each other? It is equally important for our elderly to see young people here who can carry on the tradition and work of the Church. All of us are the sons and daughters of immigrants. What more inspiring sight can we have to see our brothers and sisters from Africa, Latin America, and Asia joining us every Sunday in one Spirit?

 

So what if we are not all apostles, teachers, or prophets. We all have our work to do. We all have our role to play in the Body of Christ. We just can't stay home and try to do it on our own. We need each other.

 

###

Reading 1. Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Reading II. I Corinthians 12: 12-30

Gospel. Luke 1:1-4; 4: 14-21  (In the synagogue)

Fishers of Men

                       3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                      B cycle

 

 

 

Everyone knows about Jonah, the reluctant prophet who was cast overboard by frightened sailors who believed that Jonah’s bad luck had put them in danger during a storm. Today, the word Jonah is still a symbol of bad luck. Nevertheless, in today’s reading Jonah brings good luck to the people of Nineveh. Jonah’s preaching convinced the people of Nineveh to depart from their evil ways and repent. As a result, we are told, the whole great city was saved from destruction.

 

Jonah has always been regarded as a precursor of Jesus who was sent by the Father to save the whole world from sin and destruction. Some even go so far as to say that the three days that Jonah supposedly spent in the belly of a whale or great fish were a symbol of the three days that Jesus spent between his own death and Resurrection. 

 

In any event, in today’s gospel St. Mark wastes no time in preliminaries. He brings Jesus immediately on stage to announce the purpose of his mission. Like Jonah, he has a message of repentance to proclaim.

 

“This is the time of fulfillment.

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

 

Practically the first thing that Jesus does when he sets out on his public mission is to call disciples to follow Him and assist in His work of healing. In today’s gospel we see Him walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He sees Peter and his brother, Andrew. They were fishermen and He says to them, “come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.” We are told that immediately “they abandoned their nets and followed him.” 

 

Then he saw two other fishermen, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and called them as well. They also “left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.” 

 

What strikes me most about this passage is how quickly these fishermen were converted. They did not require instruction or lessons in theology. They did not have to go through an extended course of study. They seemed to have asked no questions or made any inquiries about His background. From what follows in the gospels we know that these first disciples did not have a clear idea of who He was or what He was going to do. Like most of us when we embark on life’s great adventures, they did not know what they were getting into or where they would wind up.

 

There must have been something about Him that made them immediately give up their jobs and families to follow Him. There was something that led them to put their full faith in Him. They certainly could not have thought themselves worthy or able.

 

This passage reminded me of a book I once read about Brother Andre, a recently canonized Canadian saint, who had as little theological knowledge and book learning as his namesake, Andrew, in today’s gospel. Andre was a poor orphan who received practically no education beyond what his mother taught him before she died when he was only 12. Thereafter, he had to work to help support himself and help out with his brothers and sisters. Eventually, a local priest, impressed with his holiness, asked the Holy Cross Fathers in Montreal to take him in. Since he did not appear to be very intelligent, he could not even be made a brother, but they gave him a job as doorkeeper or porter at their school.

 

To make a long story short, within a few years people were flocking to the school because Andre had gained a reputation as a healer. Some would come on crutches but go away walking on their own, leaving their crutches behind. Many of these crutches can still be seen today in St. Joseph’s Oratory, the magnificent church eventually built to accommodate all the pilgrims who wanted to visit him. When Brother Andre died in 1937 over a million people filed by his casket.

 

I mention Brother Andre because during his whole life he denied that he was a miracle worker possessed with great healing powers. Like Jesus, Andre often used material objects like oil and medals in healing people but he also denied that these had any magical powers. He had a special devotion to St. Joseph and asked all who came to him to pray to St. Joseph but even that he regarded as only a means for them to enhance their faith in Jesus, the light of the world. Andre always gave the credit for all of his accomplishments to faith in Jesus Christ.

 

If Jonah is a precursor of Jesus, he is also a precursor of the first Apostles, Brother Andre and even us. In today’s second reading from the Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul warned these early Christians that “time is running out,” and that they must change their behavior. We don’t know when the end of the world will come, but we do know that it came to an end for some of the members of our community last year. We also know that some of us will not make it through this new year. 

 

For most of us New Year’s resolutions are a joke, but we should all consider ways to change for the better and get our priorities in order. Hopefully, in the days to come we will all have the opportunity to follow Jesus like those fishermen on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

 

 

###

Reading 1. Jonah 3: 1-5, 10

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31

Gospel. Mark 1: 14-20 (fishers of men)

Fishers of Men

                   3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  A cycle

 

 

 

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom

a light has shown.

 

These words from the prophet Isaiah are repeated in today’s gospel reading. It is clear that the St. Matthew believed that Jesus was the light that Isaiah referred to, and since that time Christians have agreed with him.

 

It is not just that Jesus, the light of the world, will dispel darkness and gloom but that he will be a healer. In the words of Isaiah,

 

For the yoke that burdened them,

The pole on their shoulder,

And the rod of their taskmaster

You have smashed.

 

Practically the first thing that Jesus does when he sets out on his public mission is to call disciples to follow Him and assist Him in His work of healing. In today’s gospel we see Him walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He sees Peter and his brother, Andrew. They were fishermen and He says to them, “come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.” We are told, “At once they left their nets and followed Him.” Immediately after, he saw two other fishermen, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and called them as well. Again we are told, “Immediately they left their boat and their father and followed Him.”

 

What strikes me most about this passage is how quickly they were converted. They did not require instruction or lessons in theology. They did not have to go through an extended course of study. They seemed to have asked no questions or made any inquiries about His background. From what follows in the gospels we know that these first disciples did not have a clear idea of who He was or what He was going to do. Like most of us when we embark on life’s great adventures, they did not know what they were getting into or where they would wind up.

 

There must have been something about Him that made them immediately give up their jobs and families to follow Him. There was something that led them to put their full faith in Him.

 

This passage reminded me of a book I recently read about Brother Andre, a recently canonized Canadian saint, who had as little theological knowledge and book learning as his namesake, Andrew, in today’s gospel. Andre was a poor orphan who received practically no education beyond what his mother taught him before she died when he was only 12. Thereafter, he had to work to help support himself and help out with his brothers and sisters. Eventually, a local priest, impressed with his holiness, asked the Holy Cross Fathers in Montreal to take him in. Since he did not appear to be very intelligent, he could not even be made a brother, but they gave him a job as doorkeeper or porter at their school.

 

To make a long story short, within a few years people were flocking to the school because Andre had gained the reputation as a healer. Some would come on crutches but go away walking on their own, leaving their crutches behind. Many of these crutches can still be seen today in St. Joseph’s Oratory, the magnificent church eventually built to accommodate all the pilgrims who wanted to visit him. When Brother Andre died in 1937 over a million people filed by his casket.

 

I mention Brother Andre because during his whole life he denied that he was a miracle worker possessed with great healing powers. Like Jesus, Andre often used material objects like oil and medals in healing people but he also denied that these had any magical powers. He had a special devotion to St. Joseph and asked all who came to him to pray to St. Joseph but even that he regarded as only a means for them to enhance their faith in Jesus, the light of the world. Andre always gave the credit for all of his accomplishments to faith in Jesus Christ.

 

In today’s second reading St. Paul does the same thing. He says to the Corinthians that it has come to his attention that some of them place their faith in him; that others believe in Apollos, or in Peter. He is shocked at this development. 

 

Was Paul crucified for you?

Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

 

A few years ago, in my own parish a beloved pastor had to retire after 18 years for health reasons. Tears ran down faces when the announcement was made. His farewell Mass and reception were packed. He had been a compassionate pastor as well as a wonderful homilist. He had a knack for involving people in every aspect of parish life. He was also a skilled and thrifty administrator who had taken the parish out of debt, and left it with a large surplus.

 

Nevertheless, I never heard him claim any credit for himself. If you asked him, I’m sure he would have said that anything he had accomplished was due to Christ working through him. The last thing he would want is for people to leave their parish community because he had had to leave. In today’s gospel we are told that Jesus is still here, “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.”

 

###

Reading 1. Isaiah 8: 23-9:3

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 1: 10-13, 17

Gospel. Matthew 4: 12-23 (fishers of men).

Jesus in the Synagogue

                  3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  C cycle

 

 

Today's first reading from the Book of Nehemiah gives us a glimpse of an ancient Jewish religious practice. The whole assembly of the people of God come together on one of the high holy days to hear the word of God.  The scribe stands on a high platform similar to our pulpit, opens a scroll since books were not yet invented, and commences to read "plainly from the book of the law of God." The purpose of the reading which lasts from daybreak to midday is to remind them of the law, their inheritance.

 

This first reading today obviously ties in with the Gospel reading from St. Luke. Every three years when we come to Cycle C in the readings we will find that most of the gospel readings come from St. Luke. Although not one of the original apostles, Luke was a disciple of St. Paul. Shortly before his death Paul wrote to Timothy, "Make haste to come to me; for Demas has deserted me, loving this world...Luke only is with me." Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles which is mainly an account of St. Paul's missionary journeys. 

 

Christian artists have usually used four symbols to depict the four Evangelists. St. John is depicted as an Eagle since theologians regarded him as reaching closer to the heavens because his gospel seems to be the most mystical. St. Matthew is portrayed as a winged Man because his gospel begins with the human genealogy of Christ. St. Mark is portrayed as a winged Lion because his gospel begins with John the Baptist, a voice crying out or roaring in the desert. Luke is portrayed as a winged Ox because theologians believed that his gospel emphasized the sacrificial nature of Christ's mission.

 

At the outset of his gospel Luke states his credentials. His information comes from "eyewitnesses from the beginning," and from "ministers of the word" who have handed the teaching down. After "investigating everything accurately anew" he proposes to write down his own narrative "in an orderly sequence" 

 

      so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings

      you have received.

 

After this brief introduction today's reading jumps to chapter 4 in Luke's gospel. We skip over the story of our Lord's infancy (which we heard at Christmas), and the Temptation in the Desert which the Church saves until the first Sunday in Lent. In chapter 4  we find Jesus at the outset of his public life. He has returned to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit" and the whole region is aware of Him. "He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all."

 

Then one day on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue at Nazareth (according to his custom) and like Ezra in the first reading He stood up to read. He was handed a scroll and we can picture Him unrolling it until he came to the specific passage from Isaiah that He wanted to read, a passage that outlines His sacrificial mission:

 

      The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

      because he has anointed me

      to bring glad tidings to the poor.

      He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives

      and recovery of sight to the blind,

      to let the oppressed go free,

      and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

 

This mission is His but as members of His Mystical Body it is also ours. St. Paul reminds us in today's reading from Corinthians that we, whatever our rank or station, are all parts of the Body of Christ.

 

      For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,

      whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,

      and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

 

Not only do we all have our individual roles to play, we also have to be concerned for one another.

 

      If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;

      if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

 

This is one of the reasons why it is so important for us to come together here just as the Israelites did in the time of Nehemiah. Every hour of every day a Mass is being celebrated somewhere in the world by people of every race and culture. No society on Earth is as diverse as our Church. Male, female, young, old, families, celibate monks and nuns, all are welcome. All it takes for membership is Baptism. 

 

It is so important for us to see each other here. For our young people what better example can they see than an elderly couple walking out of Church still holding hands after years of love and devotion to each other? It is equally important for our elderly to see young people here who can carry on the tradition and work of the Church. All of us are the sons and daughters of immigrants. What more inspiring sight can we have to see our brothers and sisters from Africa, Latin America, and Asia joining us every Sunday in one Spirit?

 

So what if we are not all apostles, teachers, or prophets. We all have our work to do. We all have our role to play in the Body of Christ. We just can't stay home and try to do it on our own. We need each other.

 

###

Reading 1. Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Reading II. I Corinthians 12: 12-30

Gospel. Luke 1:1-4; 4: 14-21  (In the synagogue) 

Fishers of Men

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

St. Andre Besette

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shown

These words from the prophet Isaiah are repeated in today’s gospel reading. It is clear that the St. Matthew believed that Jesus was the light that Isaiah referred to, and since that time Christians have agreed with him.

It is not just that Jesus, the light of the world, will dispel darkness and gloom but that he will be a healer. In the words of Isaiah,

For the yoke that burdened them,
The pole on their shoulder,
And the rod of their taskmaster
You have smashed.

Practically the first thing that Jesus does when he sets out on his public mission is to call disciples to follow Him and assist Him in His work of healing. In today’s gospel we see Him walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He sees Peter and his brother, Andrew. They were fishermen and He says to them, “come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.” We are told, “At once they left their nets and followed Him.” Immediately after, he saw two other fishermen, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and called them as well. Again we are told, “Immediately they left their boat and their father and followed Him.”

What strikes me most about this passage is how quickly they were converted. They did not require instruction or lessons in theology. They did not have to go through an extended course of study. They seemed to have asked no questions or made any inquiries about His background. From what follows in the gospels we know that these first disciples did not have a clear idea of who He was or what He was going to do. Like most of us when we embark on life’s great adventures, they did not know what they were getting into or where they would wind up.

There must have been something about Him that made them immediately give up their jobs and families to follow Him. There was something that led them to put their full faith in Him.

This passage reminded me of a book I recently read about Brother Andre, a recently canonized Canadian saint, who had as little theological knowledge and book learning as his namesake, Andrew, in today’s gospel. Andre was a poor orphan who received practically no education beyond what his mother taught him before she died when he was only 12. Thereafter, he had to work to help support himself and help out with his brothers and sisters. Eventually, a local priest, impressed with his holiness, asked the Holy Cross Fathers in Montreal to take him in. Since he did not appear to be very intelligent, he could not even be made a brother, but they gave him a job as doorkeeper or porter at their school.

To make a long story short, within a few years people were flocking to the school because Andre had gained the reputation as a healer. Some would come on crutches but go away walking on their own, leaving their crutches behind. Many of these crutches can still be seen today in St. Joseph’s Oratory, the magnificent church eventually built to accommodate all the pilgrims who wanted to visit him. When Brother Andre died in 1937 over a million people filed by his casket.

I mention Brother Andre because during his whole life he denied that he was a miracle worker possessed with great healing powers. Like Jesus, Andre often used material objects like oil and medals in healing people but he also denied that these had any magical powers. He had a special devotion to St. Joseph and asked all who came to him to pray to St. Joseph but even that he regarded as only a means for them to enhance their faith in Jesus, the light of the world. Andre always gave the credit for all of his accomplishments to faith in Jesus Christ.

In today’s second reading St. Paul does the same thing. He says to the Corinthians that it has come to his attention that some of them place their faith in him; that others believe in Apollos, or in Peter. He is shocked at this development.

Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

A few years ago, in my own parish a beloved pastor had to retire after 18 years for health reasons. Tears ran down faces when the announcement was made. His farewell Mass and reception were packed. He had been a compassionate pastor as well as a wonderful homilist. He had a knack for involving people in every aspect of parish life. He was also a skilled and thrifty administrator who had taken the parish out of debt, and left it with a large surplus.

Nevertheless, I never heard him claim any credit for himself. If you asked him, I’m sure he would have said that anything he had accomplished was due to Christ working through him. The last thing he would want is for people to leave their parish community because he had had to leave. In today’s gospel we are told that Jesus is still here, “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.”

###

Reading 1. Isaiah 8: 23-9:3
Reading II. 1 Corinthians 1: 10-13, 17
Gospel. Matthew 4: 12-23 (fishers of men).

Fishers of Men 2018

                                    3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                  

 

St. Andre Bessette

Everyone knows about Jonah, the reluctant prophet who was cast overboard by frightened sailors who believed that Jonah’s bad luck had put them in danger during a storm. Today, the word Jonah is still a symbol of bad luck. Nevertheless, in today’s reading Jonah brings good luck to the people of Nineveh. Jonah’s preaching convinced the people of Nineveh to depart from their evil ways and repent. As a result, we are told, the whole great city was saved from destruction.

Jonah has always been regarded as a precursor of Jesus who was sent by the Father to save the whole world from sin and destruction. Some even go so far as to say that the three days that Jonah supposedly spent in the belly of a whale or great fish were a symbol of the three days that Jesus spent between his own death and Resurrection.

In any event, in today’s gospel St. Mark wastes no time in preliminaries. He brings Jesus immediately on stage to announce the purpose of his mission. Like Jonah, he has a message of repentance to proclaim.

“This is the time of fulfillment.

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Practically the first thing that Jesus does when he sets out on his public mission is to call disciples to follow Him and assist Him in His work of healing. In today’s gospel we see Him walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He sees Peter and his brother, Andrew. They were fishermen and He says to them, “come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.” We are told that immediately “they abandoned their nets and followed him.”

Then he saw two other fishermen, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and called them as well. They also “left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.”

What strikes me most about this passage is how quickly these fishermen were converted. They did not require instruction or lessons in theology. They did not have to go through an extended course of study. They seemed to have asked no questions or made any inquiries about His background. From what follows in the gospels we know that these first disciples did not have a clear idea of who He was or what He was going to do. Like most of us when we embark on life’s great adventures, they did not know what they were getting into or where they would wind up.

There must have been something about Him that made them immediately give up their jobs and families to follow Him. There was something that led them to put their full faith in Him. They certainly could not have thought themselves worthy or able.

This passage reminded me of a book I once read about Brother Andre, a recently canonized Canadian saint, who had as little theological knowledge and book learning as his namesake, Andrew, in today’s gospel. Andre was a poor orphan who received practically no education beyond what his mother taught him before she died when he was only 12. Thereafter, he had to work to help support himself and help out with his brothers and sisters. Eventually, a local priest, impressed with his holiness, asked the Holy Cross Fathers in Montreal to take him in. Since he did not appear to be very intelligent, he could not even be made a brother, but they gave him a job as doorkeeper or porter at their school.

To make a long story short, within a few years people were flocking to the school because Andre had gained the reputation as a healer. Some would come on crutches but go away walking on their own, leaving their crutches behind. Many of these crutches can still be seen today in St. Joseph’s Oratory, the magnificent church eventually built to accommodate all the pilgrims who wanted to visit him. When Brother Andre died in 1937 over a million people filed by his casket.

I mention Brother Andre because during his whole life he denied that he was a miracle worker possessed with great healing powers. Like Jesus, Andre often used material objects like oil and medals in healing people but he also denied that these had any magical powers. He had a special devotion to St. Joseph and asked all who came to him to pray to St. Joseph but even that he regarded as only a means for them to enhance their faith in Jesus, the light of the world. Andre always gave the credit for all of his accomplishments to faith in Jesus Christ.

If Jonah is a precursor of Jesus, he is also a precursor of the first Apostles, Brother Andre, and even us. In today’s second reading from the Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul warned those early Christians that “time is running out,” and that they must change their behavior. We don’t know when the end of the world will come, but we do know that it came to an end for some of the members of our community last year. We also know that some of us will not make it through this new year.

For most of us New Year’s resolutions are a joke, but we should all consider ways to change for the better and get our priorities in order. Hopefully, in the days to come we will all have the opportunity to follow Jesus like those fishermen on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

###

Reading 1. Jonah 3: 1-5, 10

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31

Gospel. Mark 1: 14-20 (fishers of men)