Tag: discipleship

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Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Isaiah 8:23-9:3
Responsorial: Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012620.cfm
https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/

My brothers and sisters, in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls the first disciples outside his family. Remember, Mary and John the Baptist already had accepted the Truth and were believers. In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls Peter and his brother Andrew.

What a fascinating scene! Scripture doesn’t tell us specifically that Peter and Andrew had ever listened to Jesus preach. We don’t know how or why they were drawn to Jesus. We don’t know poor Zebedee’s reaction who presumably watched as his sons walked away from their family business. All we see in this Scripture passage are disjointed facts. But there is no doubt that there was something about Jesus that drew Peter and Andrew to him.

And their lives were never the same…

But their lives were not perfect. They weren’t not instantly prosperous because of their faith in Christ Jesus and their lives were not free of hardships. Nonetheless, the apostles and the disciples faced life – both the good and the bad.

By our baptism, we are each called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. But sometimes I feel as if don’t embrace my call – as if it’s that part of my life over there, but it has nothing to do with this part of my life over here. Do you ever feel that way? Let’s try to get our arms around the challenge before us.

To be a disciple means that we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. This means that Jesus is must be first and foremost the most important person in our lives. We can test this by asking ourselves what we value most in this life.

To be a disciple means that we want to deepen our relationship with Jesus – to get to know him better. I’ll speak more about this in just a minute.

And to be a disciple means that we go out into the world to share the Good News of Jesus Christ beginning with the people we encounter each and every day, like our friends and family and the other people – acquaintances and strangers. That can be a tall order. So many of us strongly dislike looking foolish in front of other people. So, to be an effective disciple means that part of deepening our relationship with Jesus is to learn as much as we can about him, so that, for example, we don’t look foolish when we talk about him.

Ok let’s revisit the second point of discipleship: deepening our relationship with Jesus Christ. How can we deepen our relationship with Jesus? Well, let me ask you, how do you deepen your relationship with anyone? If you’ve ever been in a relationship, like your spouse, how did your relationship develop?

Well, generally we try to get to know them, right? We want to learn everything we can about the other person. We want to learn about their family and friends. We want to learn their likes and dislikes. We want to learn about their hopes and dreams.

So, how do we get to know Jesus? One of the first and best places to learn more about Jesus is to turn to Scripture itself. That’s part of the reason I think that Pope Francis asked us to set aside this third Sunday in Ordinary Time to turn our attention to Scripture. He tells us that we should never take Scripture for granted, “but instead to let ourselves be nourished by it, in order to acknowledge and live fully our relationship with Him and with our brothers and sisters.” <1>

My brothers and sisters, we use the occasion of this Sunday to begin a new or to continue our habit of reading a little piece of Scripture every day. Indeed, reading and reflecting on Scripture can challenge our spiritual growth, and that leads us to homework.

Homework! After having been nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and, in the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions this week.

1. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. What do I need to leave behind to follow Jesus? To what is God calling me?
2. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. How do I put my faith in action in my daily life? How can I serve those around me?

I think doing by our homework this week, it will deepen our sense of discipleship by helping us get to know Jesus a little better. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Notes:
<1> “Pope establishes Sunday of the Word of God.” Vatican News. 30 September 2019. Accessed 26 January 2020. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-09/pope-motu-proprio-sunday-word-of-god.html.

References:

1. Lectio Divina Of The Gospels. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019.
2. Mitch, Curtis and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2010.
3. Montague, George T., SM. First Corinthians. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2011.

Catechism Links: Easily search the Catechism at http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

1. Unity of charity, 814-15
2. Ecclesial ministry, 878
3. Baptism, sacrament of initiation, 1212
4. Ordinary+ ministers, 1256
5. Christ the physician, 1503
6. Christian beatitude, 1720
7. Justification, 1989

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 67
Mass Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012620.cfm
First Reading
Isaiah 8:23—9:3
First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali;
but in the end he has glorified the seaward road,
the land west of the Jordan,
the District of the Gentiles.

Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness:
for there is no gloom where but now there was distress.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.

Responsorial
Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our 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.
For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,
by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you.
I mean that each of you is saying,
“I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”
or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.

Alleluia
Matthew 4:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Matthew 4:12-23 OR 4:12-17
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.

or

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”