• Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
  Reading 1  Is 8:23—9:3

  Responsorial Psalm  Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14

  Reading 2  1 Cor 1:10-13, 17
  Alleluia, alleluia.
  Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom
  and cured every disease among the people.
  Alleluia, alleluia.

  Gospel  Mt 4:12-23 or 4:12-17

We are in a very difficult time. What makes it even more difficult are the news networks; how can organizations that are dedicated to keeping us informed be so incredibly biased?  How do we know what the truth really is?  More importantly, how do we find the truth and begin to heal? Have we ever been such a divided country before?

          Sadly, the situation we find ourselves in isn’t new, it is fact, the state of affairs of our first and second readings. In the 8^th Century BC, the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali were among those hardest hit by the Assyrians in the 733 campaign and the Prophet Isaiah comes to bring them a message of hope, for they have had the yoke, a term used to express the burden of political domination by the Assyrians who themselves described their conquest of other lands as imposing the yoke of the god Ashur on the people. Isaiah tells them of the light that will come and free them just as they were freed 500 years earlier from the yoke of Midian.  From our perspective, especially in light of our Gospel, we know that that Light is God, but for the Assyrians it is logically the sun god, Shamash, who provides light. He is praised for setting right the darkness and providing light for humankind. So, is the prophet pointing to a point in the future or calling for a turning to the Assyrian gods? The answer is clear to us, but was it to them? Confusion and division seem to be the result.

          Less than two decades after the Glorious Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, the Christian Community in Corinth finds itself focused on division amongst themselves for, what seems to us, foolish reasons because when we lose sight of the bigger picture, we find ourselves entangled in a spider web feeling trapped and victimized.

          Paul is not defending himself against opponents but addressing the misbehavior of the Corinthians. The context shows that they are favoring specific teachers (Paul and Apollos) on the basis of their respective rhetorical or philosophical skills. For the first three centuries of its existence, the church met mainly in homes; those belonging to more well-to-do members of the congregation could naturally hold the most people. Because the size of these homes limited the size of congregations and forced Christians to meet in different house churches, divisions could easily arise among them. As the letter proceeds, however, it becomes clear that the main basis for division derives from differences of social stratification within the congregations. One type of ancient speech lamented divisions and called for unity; Paul’s readers would immediately recognize the nature of his argument.

          People often gravitated toward particular teachers. Philosophers encouraged emotional attachment to themselves as a necessary part of developing morally and intellectually. Rabbis had their own schools, and disciples normally propagated their teacher’s views. Paul probably mentions “Cephas” and “Christ” only hypothetically; his point is that any division is wrong, even one based on the claim to be of Christ alone and so rejecting Paulinists and followers of Apollos.



Paul uses a common technique in argument: reductio ad absurdum, reducing an opponent’s position to its natural but absurd conclusion.  How do we go about rebuilding union?

          The reading from Paul ends with, “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.” Judaism used “baptism” as the final act of conversion for Gentiles; early Christians followed this pattern. But Paul refuses to emphasize the act itself; his emphasis is on the message to whose reception baptism merely bears witness. The waters of Baptism bring about a new life and we must focus on how to live it and without unity, we can’t be viable, yet we are supposed to be part of the Body of Christ.

          Our Gospel today focuses on this new life and the unity to which we are called. Not only is Christ shown to be the fulfilment of the Old Testament’s prophecies but Jesus begins his public ministry with the words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repentance is a form of conversion, a term used to describe the turning to the light, a changing from one thing into another; and once we accept this this message we are called to Discipleship.

          Most people in Jewish Palestine depended on salted fish, wheat and barley for sustenance; fish products like fish gravies were thus also common. The fish of the Sea of Galilee included large carp; the fish would be dried, salted or pickled to preserve them. Fishermen were central to the Galilean economy and had more income than average people in Galilee, so James and John left behind a good job. More than that, however, they suddenly left behind their father and the family business; such abandonment could easily bring them dishonor in the community. (Both Jews and Greeks, however, had similar stories and would recognize this sudden departure as a sure sign of radical discipleship.)  

          We know from Scripture that the Apostles bickered and argued amongst themselves yet they overcame unnecessary personal desires and united themselves through Jesus and His teachings. Peter even betrays Jesus three times but through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Unity of the Holy Spirit he is transformed into one of the greatest leaders of the Catholic Church and so when he and St. Paul had a major disagreement, the Church held its first council in Jerusalem because preserving unity can only done by uniting oneself with God’s will which can only be discerned through, and taught by, the Church God established to carry out Jesus’ mission to help us repent, believe the Gospel and enter the Kingdom of Heaven, a Kingdome that begins at our baptism by which transforms our life’s journey and mission into entering more deeply into that Kingdom. So, as disciples, we too must open ourselves to the Grace we need to carry out this Divine Mandate.

          Discipleship is not easy and we see how throughout Salvation History man has lost his way.  Because of the Assyrian exile, 9 of the 12 tribes of Judah were lost forever. A few centuries later, the majority of Jews held in the Babylonian captivity chose not to return to Jerusalem when given a choice and most of the churches written to by St. Paul have been lost. This raises the question: “What about us?”  Honestly, things don’t look too good.  The number of practicing Catholics is rapidly shrinking, the Church throughout most of the world is contracting and this too is a call to us to return to the radical discipleship we see Jesus calling us to in our Gospel.

          We need to unite ourselves to the Church because its teachings are the Great Light in our current darkness. We cannot be pro-choice Catholics, we cannot be pro-Gay Marriage Catholics, and if we have problems understanding the position of the Church we must address those issues and seek understanding, seek the Light that will make the Truth clearer to see and understand, thus united in the light. We need to call out the leaders in our world who claim to be Catholic but through their words and actions contradict the Good News given us by Jesus. The Kingdom of God is at hand! Let us not only rejoice in this great reality but strive to bring it to a world being swallowed up by darkness.