Chúa Giêsu đã chịu phép Rửa, Chúa Cha đã xác nhận sứ mệnh của Ngài, và bây giờ Ngài bắt đầu giảng dạy về Nước Thiên Chúa. Trong đoạn Tin Mừng hôm nay đã mô tả việc Chúa Giêsu kêu gọi các môn đệ đầu tiên. Chúa Giêsu đã có sức quyến rũ qua những rao giảng và mời gọi của Ngài mà các ông Simon và Andrew, James và John, con trai của Zebedee có sự cảm hứng, ngay lập tức rời bỏ công việc đang dở dang và bỏ cha mình và đi theo Chúa.
Chữ “ngay lập tức” thì vô cùng quan trọng. Theo lời tường thuật trong Tin Mừng Thánh Gioan, bốn người họ đã gặp Chúa Giêsu. Tuy nhiên, theo thánh Macô kể lại thì cuộc gặp gỡ đặc biệt của 4 môn đệ này với Chúa Giêsu, Ngài đã kêu gọi họ đi theo Ngài trong một cuộc gặp gỡ thật khác thường và bất ngờ họ sẵn sàng rời bỏ mọi thứ để theo Chúa ngay lập tức. Họ không ngần ngại suy tính lợi hại, Họ không nghĩ về tương lai hay quá khứ. Họ chỉ biết vâng phục và chấp nhận mọi rủi ro và sự mong muốn bất ngờ này đã mang lại cho họ sự thỏa mãn trái tim của họ.
Có một sự khác biệt rất lớn giữa việc biết về Chúa Giêsu và gặp gỡ Người. Có thể khi chúng ta được rửa tội khi còn nhỏ, hoặc khi đã trưởng thành mới đáp lại món quà đức tin của Chúa, chúng ta đã biết về Chúa Giêsu. Tin Mừng hôm nay kêu gọi chúng ta đến với một cuộc gặp gỡ thân mật hơn với Chúa Giêsu là Chúa và Cứu Chúa của chúng ta. Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin ban cho con có được đặc ân là có được một cuộc gặp gỡ sâu sắc, cá nhân với Ngài và làm thay đổi cuộc sống của chúng con.
Jesus has been baptized; the Father has confirmed his mission and now he starts to teach about the Kingdom of God. As a teacher, he began to gather disciples who would participate in his mission.
Today’s passage from Mark’s Gospel describes the calling of the first disciples. Jesus used words of invitation, which were so inspired and so strong that Simon and Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, immediately left their works and followed him.
The word immediately is extremely important. According to the account in St John’s Gospel, the four of them had already encountered Jesus. However, Mark tells of a special encounter with Jesus, who called them to follow him. This encounter was so unusual and so deep that they were ready to leave everything in order to follow him, immediately. They did not think about the future or the past. They just took a risk and yielded to this sudden desire, which fulfilled their hearts.
There is a huge difference between knowing about Jesus and meeting him. Baptized as children perhaps, or as adults responding to God’s gift of faith, we have learned about Jesus. The Gospel calls us to a more intimate encounter with Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Jesus, grant me the grace of a deep, personal, and life-changing encounter with You.
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark 1:15–17
Today, as we enter into Ordinary Time, we hear Jesus’ first proclamation of the Gospel as recorded by Mark: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” Those words rang true as Jesus began His public ministry, and they ring true for us today.
Imagine the scene. The Eternal Son of God took on flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He grew up in Nazareth with His parents and learned the trade of carpentry from Joseph. At the age of thirty, He was baptized by John in the Jordan River and spent forty days in the desert—fasting, praying, and overcoming the devil’s temptations. Afterward, He traveled to the Sea of Galilee and began His public ministry.
Though every moment of Jesus’ life was sacred, the first words of His public ministry stand out. The long-awaited “time of fulfillment” had arrived, and He began to proclaim, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” All that had been planned from the foundation of the world and all that was revealed in the Old Testament pointed to that moment. All of God’s promises were about to be fulfilled.
It would be fascinating to go back in time to that moment, knowing everything we know now about Jesus’ life and mission, and observe the humble beginnings of the most important activity ever to take place. The ordinary people whom He called and prepared for such an extraordinary task are exceptionally inspiring. The many people who walked by Jesus, not knowing Who He was, magnify Jesus’ humility. He hid His glory, relying on the power of His preaching and the workings of grace in the hearts of His disciples—and He continues to do so today.
Though we cannot travel back to that historical moment, we should understand that it is a moment that transcends time. Just as Jesus spoke those words long ago at the Sea of Galilee, He speaks them anew today. He says to you, “Today is the time of fulfillment for you!” “Today” is the present moment every day of our lives.
We often miss Jesus’ proclamation to us because we fail to recognize the extraordinary significance of the Word of God and the immediacy of God’s call to repentance. We must respond to that call in the same way that the first Apostles did. Jesus first encounters Peter and Andrew as they are fishing and says, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men,” and they follow. He then calls James and John, who also follow. They do not hesitate. Though Jesus had performed no miracles yet, He had no followers, and was unknown, these men knew they had to follow Jesus. They did so, leaving everything else behind.
Reflect today on the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Like the Apostles, do you make an immediate and complete response to Jesus every time He calls within every moment of your day? What “nets” in your life hold you back from following Him completely? Are there attachments, comforts, or distractions that hinder your response? Do you spend time with the Word of God and in prayer, listening for His proclamation to you to repent and believe in the Gospel? Just as He spoke to Peter, Andrew, James, and John, Jesus speaks to you today: “Come after me.” Do not hesitate to follow where He leads. Do not let this moment pass by—for He is calling you now.
My divine Lord, as You began Your public ministry, the full radiance of Your glory was hidden from the eyes of the people of Galilee. Yet as You spoke, Your words resonated in the minds and hearts of those who listened with faith. Draw me now, and in every moment of my life, into this ongoing time of fulfillment. As You call me to repentance and faith, give me the strength to respond fully and without hesitation. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to hear the words of your Son today, to repent from my sinful ways with your grace, and to believe more fully in your Gospel. Help me to leave behind those things that keep me from you and hold me back from following your Son more closely.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Moral Sense of Mark’s Gospel: For the next five and a half weeks, the daily Gospel will be taken from the Gospel according to Mark. When we read Mark according to the literal sense, we hear the preaching of Peter about the life of Jesus. When we read Mark according to the allegorical sense, we see Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecies about the royal Messiah. What about the moral sense of Mark’s Gospel? This sense teaches us how to be disciples of Jesus and to follow Jesus. Mark identifies Jesus as the suffering Messiah and Servant of the Lord. Jesus’ destiny is to journey to Jerusalem to suffer and die and be raised on the third day. As his disciples, we are invited to identify ourselves with our Lord and follow in his footsteps. “Just as the truth of Jesus is found only on the cross, so is the secret of discipleship. To be a follower of Jesus is to share intimately in his life and destiny, as Paul knew well (see Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:8-11). Throughout the Gospel, Jesus’ focus is on forming deep bonds of communion with his disciples and preparing them for the ordeal that lies ahead. Ironically, this formation seems not to succeed, since his companions are consistently uncomprehending, hardened, doubting, and inept; they finally abandon their master in his hour of trial. Yet even their failure is part of God’s plan, for though they stumble, Jesus remains true, and through his total fidelity to the Father gains forgiveness and restoration for them. Just as in the Old Testament story of Israel, God’s love is often met with infidelity and betrayal, yet is constantly renewed, so the Gospel ends with the joyous promise of an encounter with the risen Lord” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 24).
2. Metanoia and Faith: There are two necessary responses to the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God: conversion (metanoia) and belief. John the Baptist was able to invite people to conversion or repentance. Jesus, however, can do more and invites the people to believe in the Gospel. “Conversion is a twofold movement – away from sin and toward God. It is a movement of our detachment from sin and a re-attachment to the Lord. One of the Greek roots of ‘repent’ (nous) means ‘mind,’ so repentance and conversion literally mean ‘to change one’s mind’ – that is, to totally reorient one’s life (see CCC, 1431)” (A Catholic Guide to the New Testament, 127). Jesus invites his listeners to trustingly accept and yield to what God is doing in him. “The kingdom is near enough that anyone who so chooses can reach out and lay hold of it through faith” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 42). The kingdom of God is present in Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus will work to liberate the cosmos from the reign of the devil and reconcile it with God: “Where Jesus is present, there demons and disease flee. And so, the kingdom has its advent with Jesus, the coming one whom John the Baptist announced. The proper response is repentance, joining God’s army to be liberated, and once liberated, advancing the liberation of the whole cosmos, which, ultimately, is the content of the gospel Jesus calls us to believe in” (Huizenga, Loosing the Lion, 96).
3. Following Jesus: The second half of today’s Gospel narrates the story of the call of four fishermen to leave behind their former life and follow Christ. The four are an example for every Christian disciple. They encountered Jesus while they were busy at work in the world. It seems that the sons of Zebedee, James and John, were successful in their family business and could even afford to hire employees. But they left all of this behind. They responded to Jesus’ call to conversion and the call to believe in the Gospel. The conversion is not just a turning away from sin but also involves a change in mindset. The beginning of our spiritual life is often a detachment from habits of serious sin. Sin clouds the mind, and true conversion necessitates a change in our way of thinking. The continuation of our spiritual life, growth in holiness, and moral growth is our ongoing conversion and conformity to the mind and life of Christ. As disciples, we need to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. “Getting behind” Jesus and following him entails a healthy dose of humility. The prideful person, by contrast, tries to get ahead of Jesus and forge their own path. They mistakenly think that they can bring Jesus along for the ride or that Jesus will follow them!
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, pour forth your Spirit into my heart and move me to conversion of heart and a deep faith. I will strive each day to discern in prayer how I am called to follow you and detach myself from the things of this passing world.
Monday 1st week of Ordinary Time
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” Mark 1:14–15
We have now completed our Advent and Christmas Seasons, and thus we begin the liturgical season of “Ordinary Time.” Ordinary Time must be lived in our lives in both an ordinary and extraordinary way.
First of all, we begin this liturgical season with an extraordinary calling from God. In the Gospel passage above, Jesus begins His public ministry by proclaiming that “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” But He then goes on to state that, as a result of the new presence of the Kingdom of God, we must “repent” and “believe.”
It’s important to understand that the Incarnation, which we especially celebrated in Advent and Christmas, changed the world forever. Now that God had united Himself with human nature in the Person of Jesus Christ, God’s new Kingdom of grace and mercy was at hand. Our world and our lives are changed because of what God did. And as Jesus began His public ministry, He begins to inform us through His preaching of this new reality.
The public ministry of Jesus, as it is transmitted to us through the inspired Word of the Gospels, presents to us the very Person of God and the foundation of His new Kingdom of grace and mercy. It presents us with the extraordinary calling of holiness of life and an unwavering and radical commitment to following Christ. Thus, as we begin Ordinary Time, it’s good to be reminded of our duty to immerse ourselves in the message of the Gospel and to respond to it without reserve.
But this calling to an extraordinary way of life must ultimately become ordinary. In other words, our radical calling to follow Christ must become who we are. We must see the “extraordinary” as our “ordinary” duty in life.
Reflect, today, upon the beginning of this new liturgical season. Use it as an opportunity to remind yourself of the importance of both daily studying and prayerfully pondering the public ministry of Jesus and all He taught. Recommit yourself to a faithful reading of the Gospel so that it becomes an ordinary part of your daily life.
My precious Jesus, I thank You for all You have spoken and revealed to us through Your public ministry. Strengthen me during this new liturgical season of Ordinary Time to devote myself to the reading of Your holy Word, so that all that You have taught us becomes an ordinary part of my daily life. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Kingdom and Salvation: Jesus began his ministry in Galilee. This was to fulfill a prophecy in the Book of Isaiah about the people in the region of “Galilee of the Gentiles” seeing a great light (Isaiah 8:23-9:1). Jesus and the Gospel he proclaimed are the great light that enlightens not just Israel and Judah, but all nations. Jesus announced the “time of fulfillment,” and this means that everything promised and foretold in the Old Testament – especially about the restoration of the Kingdom of David and the Good News of salvation – is being brought to fulfillment and completion in his person and by his ministry. By announcing in Galilee that the Kingdom of God is at hand, Jesus is announcing that the first tribes of Israel to experience exile in 722 B.C., are the first to hear the preaching of the Gospel of salvation and the arrival of the Kingdom of God. This announcement invites a twofold response: repentance (metanoia) from sin and a turning toward God; and belief in the Gospel. Jesus is inviting the people to have a faith that flourishes in and works through love.
No comments:
Post a Comment