Peter, Andrew, James and John were called to leave their natural family to embrace a much larger family, the future family of Jesus’ disciples. The Lord’s call to us to follow him today will always involve some element of that call to open ourselves up to a wider family, the family of the church or of humanity.
Jesus sent out the twelve he had chosen to share in his work. He sent them out to do what he was doing, to preach the gospel and to heal the sick. He needed the help of others to do the work he had been sent to do. We are to be his eyes, his ears, his hands, his feet and his voice, continuing his work today. He wants to work in and through us. Each of us has a role to play.
The calling of disciples is described in today’s Gospel. We too are called to follow Christ, even in these difficult times of pandemic. As believers, we listen to God’s word, allowing it to steer and support us, every day of our lives.
• The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity continues till Monday. Today is designated as the ‘Sunday of the Word of God’ (the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time every year). Catholic Schools Week 2021 begins today.
Jesus sent out the twelve he had chosen to share in his work. He sent them out to do what he was doing, to preach the gospel and to heal the sick. He needed the help of others to do the work he had been sent to do. We are to be his eyes, his ears, his hands, his feet and his voice, continuing his work today. He wants to work in and through us. Each of us has a role to play.
We too come to the Lord with the greatest urgency when we are struggling, when we are in some kind of distress. Like the crowds in the gospel, we reach out to touch the Lord in our brokenness, recognising him as the source of healing and life. The Lord is as available to us as he was to the crowds of Galilee.
He himself persisted in the good work that God gave him to do, regardless of his hostile reception by the authorities. We try to be faithful to what is right, because it is what God wants of us and not because of any praise it might bring us. We remain faithful to our calling to share in Jesus’ work of bringing healing and life to others, no matter what it may cost.
When it comes to the ways of God, the ways of the Lord, we are all only learners. The Lord always has much to teach us. The Lord continues to speak to us and to teach and enlighten us in and through his word. That is why we approach the Scriptures in a spirit of openness and humility.
TThe new wine of the Lord’s loving presence and life-giving activity calls for new wineskins, to contain and dispense it. The Lord’s love is a grace but it also makes demands on us, calling on us to keep renewing our lives so that we can truly be moulded by his love.
Now that the Christmas season is behind us and we are moving into the New Year, the liturgy challenges us to reflect on what following Christ means. In the light of the Mother and Babies Home report published this week, there is sadness in our hearts as we gather, as well as an awareness of the suffering COVID-19 is causing in our communities. We pray the Lord to be close to the broken-hearted.
January 17, 2021 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (1) 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19 The call of young Samuel, one of the great vocation stories Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to…
January 16, 2021 Week 1 in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Hebrews 4:12-16 Our merciful high priest has passed into heaven Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the…
January 15, 2021 Week 1 in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Hebrews 4:1-5, 11 Through faith we shall enter into God’s day of rest While the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For indeed the good news came…
January 14, 2021 Week 1 in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Hebrews 3:7-14 Hearts opened to God, not hardened by sin Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the desert, where your ancestors put me…
January 13, 2021 Week 1 in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18 Jesus shared our flesh and blood and so is able to help us in our trials Since the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power…
January 12, 2021 Tuesday of Week 1 1st Reading: Hebrews 2:5-12 Jesus, crowned with glory, having been tested through suffering Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care…
January 11, 2021 Week 1 in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Hebrews 1:1-6 God spoke in many and varied ways, but now through Jesus, his Son and heir Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,…
Today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord: it’s the last day of the Christmas season. The baptism of Jesus marked the end of his quiet years in Nazareth and the start of his public ministry.
It is often in those mature years that we can hear the call of Isaiah in today’s first reading, ‘O come to the water all you who are thirsty, Seek the Lord while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near.’ The Lord keeps calling out to us from the moment of our baptism.
While Jesus stayed in close communion with God he also kept touch with people in their need. The same duality is also true of our own inner selves. In prayer, we are mindful of God’s presence, tuning in to God’s presence within us, but also prompts us to think about others, to feel their needs.
Many today would want to personally experience this miracle of sharing, when times are tough. Perhaps it can be achieved still, if the generous spirit of Jesus gets into our hearts, and into our governance, the sharing spirit that Pope Francis is calling for. The miracle of the loaves and fishes is a colourful background to the principle so well expressed in today’s epistle, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God.”
