A Homily – The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

 A Homily – The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

  

First Reading – Isaiah 8:23-9:3 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 26(27):1, 4, 13-14 ©

Second Reading – 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 4:23

The Gospel of Matthew 4:12 - 23 ©

 

(NJB)

  

Listen!

 It is an error to ascribe divine motive or action to any event that transpires here on Earth. God, the creator of the universe, God made us in freedom and the whole of creation as well.

 Be mindful.

 God does not confer glory on anyone, on any tribe or any nation, and God does not seek glory for God’s own self. The prophet was wrong to use this language, his error being the error of human ambition, representing the limits of the human imagination, it is a reflection of our sinful nature and our own obsession with personal pride.

 Glorification is not God’s concern, neither should it be ours. The prophet was write however, to speak of this: to speak of hope like a light shining in the darkness, which once perceived, gladdens the heart and brings joy.

 God’s light shines on us from beyond this world; we cannot always see it, but we will when we have left the world behind.

 Listen!

 It is wise to trust in God; it is less than wise to hold yourself in high esteem.

 Embrace God’s judgment!

 This should be easy for a person of faith who knows that God’s judgment never appears without God’s mercy, and that God’s wrath never appears without God’s love.

 Do not boast about standing upright. No one is innocent, and God already knows you, better than you know yourself.

 Do not shun your neighbors, even if you perceive them to be frivolous, even if they do not share your values or believe things contrary to your own beliefs; do not be quick to call them evil.

 Sit where you are invited, open your door to everyone; then will you be in the service of God.

 Be mindful of this, at all times be mindful:

 A house divided against itself cannot stand, and if it cannot stand, it cannot be used for any good, it will shelter no one, harbor no one, people cannot gather there, talk together, share a meal together or lift up their voices in song.

 Do not look to the pulpit or the person preaching there as the final word on the way.

 Look to the teaching of Christ, of Jesus who says this: no greater love can a person show than that they give their life for their sister or brother, which is exactly what Jesus did when the time came, when he was arrested at Gethsemane, put on trial and killed.

 Follow the way: love God with all your strength and all your heart and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, this is the whole of the law, and the wisdom of the prophets…this is the way.

 Be mindful, and be wary of the Scriptures, especially when the authors of the text are attempting to fit their narrative of Jesus’ life into a picture that makes it look as if he is fulfilling a prediction made by a prophet from past ages.

 In these cases the literal story is always false, it cannot be relied on for anything, even as a metaphor. Stories that rest on a false foundation are suspect and should be treated guardedly.

 Know this:

 Even if a prediction was made, and even if Jesus did the thing that was predicted, it is false to suggest that Jesus’ actions were in fulfillment of it…such a thing would be merely a happy coincidence.

 This truth is bedrock, we know it because the future is not predetermined, it never has been and it never will be. God and creation free.

 A prophet only speak of the future for two reasons; to engender hope and to warn of danger. There is no other purpose and there is no predictive power in it. A prophet, even when talking of the future, is always addressing a matter before the people in their own time and their own place. Prophecy is never meant to guide the lives of future generations, except in cases when the prophet is addressing an issue of universal truth, such as the nature of justice and mercy, which is itself timeless and unchanging.

 Listen!

 The Gospel writers were propagandists. They fabricated many of the details of Jesus’ life. They fabricated those details to suit their narrative about who Jesus was, why his mission was necessary, and what his life and death meant for the early church.

 In this narrative the Gospel writers place Jesus directly in the tradition of John the Baptist, they do it with the words “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” This is a continuation of that narrative, meant to harness the energy of John’s movement, after his arrest and murder. The narrative in the Gospel for today informs the reader of this, and that is its main intention.

 

First Reading – Isaiah 8:23-9:3 ©

In Galilee of the Nations the People has Seen a Great Light

In days past the Lord humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in days to come he will confer glory on the Way of the Sea on the far side of Jordan, province of the nations.

The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.

You have made their gladness greater, you have made their joy increase; they rejoice in your presence as men rejoice at harvest time, as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.

For the yoke that was weighing on him, the bar across his shoulders, the rod of his oppressor – these you break as on the day of Midian.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 26(27):1, 4, 13-14 ©

The Lord is my light and my help.

The Lord is my light and my help;

  whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

  before whom shall I shrink?

The Lord is my light and my help.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,

  for this I long,

to live in the house of the Lord,

  all the days of my life,

to savour the sweetness of the Lord,

  to behold his temple.

The Lord is my light and my help.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness

  in the land of the living.

Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.

  Hope in the Lord!

The Lord is my light and my help.

Second Reading – 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17 ©

Make Up the Differences Between You Instead of Disagreeing Among Yourselves

I appeal to you, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to make up the differences between you, and instead of disagreeing among yourselves, to be united again in your belief and practice. From what Chloe’s people have been telling me, my dear brothers, it is clear that there are serious differences among you. What I mean are all these slogans that you have, like: ‘I am for Paul’, ‘I am for Apollos’, ‘I am for Cephas’, ‘I am for Christ.’ Has Christ been parcelled out? Was it Paul that was crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul?

For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.

  

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 4:23

 Alleluia, alleluia!

 Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.

 Alleluia!

  

Gospel According to Matthew 4:12-23 ©

 He Went and Settled in Capernaum: in This Way the Prophecy of Isaiah Was Fulfilled

 Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:

 ‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!

Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan, Galilee of the nations!

The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.’

 From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’

 As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ And they left their nets at once and followed him. Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.

 He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people.

 

The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)