LETS GO FISHING

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 4:12-23 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.

Today’s first reading from Isaiah is the one we heard at Midnight Mass on December 24th the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. At Midnight Mass the reading proclaimed that the birth of Christ was a great light in the darkness, today the reading announces that Christ is the great light that shines even brighter in his ministry. The gospel begins the time of Jesus' ministry, beginning with preaching for conversion. Just two weeks ago we celebrated the feast of the Baptism of Jesus. Baptism is the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Baptism is always the beginning of the time of ministry. After his baptism Jesus began to preach the good news. With his preaching the light of Christ begins to shine brightly. Jesus' ministry is light in the darkness. So Jesus begins his ministry first, but what does he do next? After he preaches, Jesus calls his disciples. Jesus is not happy with the ministry that he can do, he calls for helpers so that his ministry reaches more people, so that his light shines brighter, so that his light reaches every corner of the earth. Jesus calls the disciples out of necessity. It is interesting that Jesus uses the image of being a fisher of men and women. In Jesus' time they did not fish with a rod and reel, he did not use hooks. The disciples used nets, nets not to hook, but to gather. It is the image of the church, of bringing folks together, of gathering, of forming a people. Jesus needed to call helpers in his time, he continues to call us to help him, so that his light continues to reach people who are still in darkness. Jesus began his ministry after his baptism; we too begin our ministry with baptism. Baptism is the beginning of our time as Missionary disciples of Jesus. By baptism we become missionary disciples of Jesus. What does it mean to be a missionary-disciple? A disciple is someone who follows another person. We are disciples of Jesus. Which means that we are called to follow in his footsteps. To continue their work, to be his presence in today's world. If we are disciples, we must first deepen our relationship with Jesus. We have to be people of prayer. That is why we come to Mass, that is why it is so important to have Mass in our language. If we are going to have a relationship with Jesus, we have to speak to him in our language. We need to be people of prayer. We need to know that he understands us and that we can express our wants and needs to him. This is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Now the second part, being a missionary. What is a missionary? A missionary is someone sent to share the message of Jesus with others. It is not enough to simply come to Mass. We are not living our baptism if we are not sharing the message with others. So today it's very fitting that we're going to invite you to commit to a ministry in the church. We're going to turn out some sheets right now and invite you to commit to a ministry in the church and in February we're going to have training for all the ministries. Jesus calls us to fishers of men and women, remember the image of a net. We are called to bring people together, to form community. That's why the church exists, especially for the Latino world here in the United States, it's important for us to be united. 2000 years ago Jesus called Simon and Andrew, James and John; today Jesus is calling us, Mary and Joseph, Philip and Guadalupe. Thanks to the first disciples the light of Jesus came to us, now it is our turn. Now we are called to bring the light of Christ here. First to Zebulun and Neptali now to Lima, Ohio.