January 21
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Teach me your ways, O Lord.”
Readings
Reflection
On September 30, 2019, the feast of St. Jerome (d. 420), Pope Francis addressed to the Church his desire for each year the third Sunday in Ordinary Time to be a day dedicated to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God. Appropriately chosen on this day because St. Jerome most famously reminds us of a deep truth which governed his whole life: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
A simple invitation for us that if we respond to this call and pick up the Gospel, we have in our hands direct contact with God’s self-revelation. We come to better know and understand who he is, and this can only draw us deeper into friendship. We might better consider how much time we sit with His Word before our eyes, minds, and heart open to receive. How much media we allow to go in and out of our head each day! Imagine if just 15 of those minutes were replaced by time for the Lord to speak to us through his Gospel. We'd quickly find that those 15 minutes become far more fruitful than the 15 minutes of scrolling through the internet we would've otherwise done.
St. Ephrem (d. 373): “Who is able to understand, Lord, all the richness of even one of your words? There is more that eludes us than what we can understand. We are like the thirsty drinking from a fountain. Your word has as many aspects as the perspectives of those who study it. The Lord has colored his word with diverse beauties, so that those who study it can contemplate what stirs them. He has hidden in his word all treasures, so that each of us may find a richness in what he or she contemplates”
As we continue to be early on in our liturgical year, notice that we are beginning our trek through the Gospel of Mark, to which we will devote a lot of time in Cycle B of the Sunday Lectionary. Consider reading it cover to cover. Today we find ourselves still early in the first chapter, but already we are hit with Mark’s style that will be the tone for the remainder of the Gospel: vivid, almost breathless, one event to the next, urgent, and above all, it is very much Good News for us. Mark 1:1 doesn’t mess around but gets right to the point of who we meet in this living word: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Consider now the urgency with which Mark quickly communicates, why we must be attentive to this message, and return to today’s Gospel. John the Baptist is arrested, immediately Jesus now is on the scene. This (Now) is the time of fulfillment, the Kingdom is at hand and breaking in (Now), repent and believe in the Gospel (Now). Jesus passing by the fishermen busy doing their daily tasks, Jesus calls and they respond and drop everything. Come follow me (Now). We hear something that mattered then and matters equally for our ears now. Something was powerful in Jesus’ words, in the expression of his voice, his captivating appearance. Those who heard him responded immediately. What are we waiting for? Let’s listen to His word and respond boldly...
Peace,
Would you like to receive these reflections in your inbox? Subscribe to The Sunday Read newsletter.