Today we hear the story of the beginning of Jesus’
ministry: he came proclaiming the Good News;
he came healing the sick; and he came and called people by name to be his
followers. If we were to put this in a
brief twitter, we would begin with the three words: “proclaiming, healing, calling.”
What did Jesus proclaim?
The Good News of the Gospel. We
believe that the first gift of our faith is the love of God, the humble God who
became one of us in love. In our faith
we need to touch into the love and the call of God. May we never lose touch of the beautiful
reality that the first gift of our faith, the first gift of the proclamation of
Jesus is the love of God.
Who first proclaimed to you the love of God – the first gift
of faith?
Who are the people in your life who proclaim to you the love
of God – the first gift of faith?
Do we in the faith community proclaim to each other the love
of God? Shame on us if we do not.
In proclaiming the love of God, we are not to shy away from
the Lord’s message of repentance for our sins.
Jesus challenges us to turn away from the darkness of sin so that we can
live in the light of God’s loving presence.
Sin alienates us from the kingdom of heaven. Repentance demands humility and fundamental
change of heart. Otherwise we cannot
truly be Jesus’s disciples.
The Scriptures today call us to move from darkness to light,
from the darkness of our sinfulness to the light of Christ. From Isaiah in the first Scripture reading,
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who
dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.”
In the second Scripture reading, Paul speaks of the reality
of the human condition as it was reported to him about the rivalries in the
Christian community of Corinth. Paul
writes: “I urge you, brothers and
sisters, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what
you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in
the same mind and in the same purpose.
On Friday we celebrated the inauguration of our 45th
president of the United States, President Donald Trump. Part of the genius of our democracy is the
peaceful transition of power from President Obama to President Trump. That being said, there have been far too many
rivalries, too much division, too much mean-spiritedness among Republicans and Democrats.
As St Paul writes in the second Scripture reading, there is
considerable division in the Corinthian community. Paul’s prayer for the Corinthians is our prayer
for our government leaders that in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that there
be no divisions among you, but you be united in the same mind and in the same
purpose.
Paul knows well the reality of the human condition. Sin is in all of us. That includes power, greed, and
self-centeredness. But our prayer and
our hope and our trust needs to be focused in our lives, in our Church, and in
our government that we need to work together.
We need to collaborate with each other in discovering our better angels
and how best to serve each other and how best to serve those most in need.
The coming of Jesus brings forgiveness, healing, renewal,
and wholeness. He calls on us to change
lives and minds, and he brings us God’s pardon.
He invites us to a new life, and he empowers us to set out to live that
new life. The God who is close is the
God who is gentle and forgiving.
As we reflect on the call of the first apostles in the
Gospel account, when Jesus sees Peter and Andrew, he looks them in the eye and
says, “Follow me.” He needs help in
gathering the people.
Jesus’ inaugural address to the apostles was rather
brief: “Follow me.”
In choosing Peter and Andrew and James and John, Jesus
wasn’t choosing the best and the brightest, but Jesus was developing a team, a
team that he would collaborate with. The
first apostles trusted completely in the Lord and were willing to leave
everything to follow Jesus.
As we
reflect on the call of the first apostles, this leads us to pray over the call
each of us receives to be a disciple of Jesus.
In asking ourselves what is our level of commitment to follow Jesus, I
share Pope Francis' dream. I dream that we will give Jesus first place in our
lives. That we will hear him say, "Follow me." And that we will do
our part in gathering God’s people together as the faith community of St.
Joseph’s: including those who have become discouraged, those who have drifted
from the faith, families with small children, high school students and young
adults.
We have
tough competition - a consumer society that promises fulfillment apart from
God. Because of that false promise, people drift away from active engagement in
our faith community.
You and I are
called to gather people in the faith community of St Joseph’s; we have a role to
play in the big story of the Catholic Church. If we take time for prayer, if we
repent and allow Jesus work through us, then by his power we can gather people.
Jesus is the light for those living in darkness. Today Jesus still says:
"Follow me."
I know of a
beautiful story of a woman who had a rough childhood – considerable family
issues and some abuse. This person was student at St. Joseph’s School in her
childhood. In her own telling of her story, the way she
made it through her difficult childhood was that each morning on the way to
school, when she turned the corner, she saw her classroom light on. Then she knew all would be well. She experienced at St. Joseph’s School the strength, the faith and
the love that helped her become the woman she is today. Please God this is who we are as a church and
as a school.
I’ve heard
it said that it’s a long winding road from the head to the heart. As we reflect on the Lord’s call in our
lives, “Follow me.” The Lord’s invitation to us calls for a conversion of our
heart -- the kingdom of God is not just a promised reality; it is a present
reality. We are called to be a Church of
service and love to one another -- not just a hierarchy or a building but we
need the repentance that brings real change of heart on the inside. Lord, we thank you that Jesus is still
preaching a message of love and forgiveness.
Have a blessed day.
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