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Our Sunday Reflection - January 21, 2024
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"Teach me your ways, O Lord."
Psalm 25
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Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day
In today’s Gospel, Jesus passes by the Sea of Galilee and calls the first four disciples, two pairs of brothers: Simon and Andrew, James and John. Follow me, he tells these four fishermen, and I will make you fishers of more disciples. Jesus continues to call disciples; indeed, we were all called when we were baptized. On this Sunday of the Word of God, may the stories of Jonah, of Paul, and of the first four disciples inspire us to drop our nets and follow more closely our Lord as his disciples.Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word
In the first reading we hear today, God sends Jonah to the huge city of Nineveh, where he warns of God’s wrath and calls for repentance. In the Gospel, Jesus comes to Galilee calling for repentance as well. He proceeds to call his first disciples, promising that he would change their lives. They follow immediately, much as the residents of Nineveh turned toward the LORD immediately. As Paul reminds the Corinthians, “time is running out.” Let us realize the urgency with which we’re called to repent and follow the Lord.Reflections
- The entire book of Jonah consists of only four chapters, and the chapter we hear today must be the only one Jonah would be proud of. You see, this is the second time the LORD called Jonah on this mission. In the first chapter, Jonah responds immediately to God’s call . . . by jumping on the first ship sailing in the opposite direction! During a brutal storm, the sailors throw him overboard, fearing that he brought on God’s wrath. In chapter two, Jonah is swallowed by a great fish, leading him to pray in desperation. Given a second chance in the passage we hear, he obeys at once. But in the final chapter Jonah is miffed. Nineveh was the enemy! Jonah hoped that he might see at least some of God’s promised wrath. But God teaches him that repentance, not punishment, was always the goal, for God’s mercy trumps God’s anger. Jonah may have failed to do right at first, and his heart was still divided when he did right, but he saved thousands of people from destruction because in the end he followed God’s call.
- God promises us new life after repentance and conversion. Jonah found it after three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. The people of Nineveh found it after they turned to fasting and sackcloth. Simon, Andrew, James, and John found it after dropping their nets and following Jesus. Now it is our turn to trust that repenting and following the Lord will be rewarded.
- Note that Jesus did not tell the pairs of brothers that they had to study him for a good long time and pass a test before they could go out and fish for more disciples. No, he told them straightaway that all they had to do was follow and he would make them fishers of others. We need not be nervous about first becoming qualified enough to reach out to others. As long as we sincerely follow him, we can invite others to follow as well.
Question of the Week
How do I go about inviting others to journey to the kingdom with me?
-from Pastoral Patterns
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readings of the mass
LISTEN HERE to the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, January 21, 2024
SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, January 21, 2024
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Offerings
The Sunday offerings are a portion of our blessings that we give to God (Church) in gratitude to what God has done for us...ONLINE GIVING OPTIONS -
Reflections on the readings
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