Gospel: 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.
Homily
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As I read the gospel passage for this weekend, I was reminded of the great social movements which we have witnessed over the past decades, movements in which someone came up with a new vision which captivated the minds and hearts of a great number of people, many of whom were willing to give up what they were doing in order to make the dream a reality. The problem of course is that some of those movements pandered to the baser instincts of human beings with the result that the dream was not really beneficial to anyone. On the other hand there were dreams which had the good of all humanity as the goal and what a difference they have made to our world.
In the gospel reading for this weekend, the dream is the Kingdom, God’s reign in which people would accept God’s law as their way of life and thus usher in the time of universal peace and harmony and well being for all. We are told in the passage “…Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” So captivating is this vision that the first disciples leave their daily occupations to follow Jesus; “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.” This vision of universal peace and harmony and well being for all is still a vision which captivates hearts and minds. It is the vision which underlines the great movements and revolutions of our age. One of the pre-requisites of having this vision though is an understanding that this vision cannot be forced, it can only be proposed and persons must be left free to accept or reject it. The vision must be accepted not because of anything external to itself but because of the internal force of the vision. The question which must be asked though is this; Are you and I captivated by the vision of the Kingdom so that like the first disciples and many others during the course of history we are willing to expend time and energy seeking to bring it into being? The problem for us is that we live in an extremely individualistic age which does not value community which is the fruit of true harmony and anything which cuts into the “my” is not valued. The lives of the saints, our heroes in the faith teach us a different lesson. Here were persons who, having other options, gave their very lives for the sake of the vision. We need only cite Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and her sisters. The challenge for us is to rise above our individualistic tendencies and allow the vision of a world in which people accept God’s law as their way of life and thus usher in the time of universal peace, harmony and well being for all. This vision must overtake us totally. Without giving our hearts and minds to the vision we are not really disciples of Jesus. His call has not captivated us.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God you wish us to be collaborators with you in the envisioning and creating of a new world of Justice and harmony. Remove from our hearts all that can be an obstacle to this enterprise so that we may give our life and energy to the pursuit of the vision. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our Mother and Jesus, your son. Amen
