Third
Sunday, Jonah 3:1-10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20.
By Father Timothy P. Schehr
Lent is still nearly two months away,
but the readings for this Sunday sound like they belong to that great season of
repentance. But then accepting the Gospel always goes together with turning away from sin.
So repentance is a theme appropriate any time of year.
The Gospel reading begins with the sad
announcement that John had been arrested. Mark does not give us the details of John’s
arrest, but it does introduce a shadow over the Lord’s ministry even as it begins. It
also indicates that there was plenty of reason for Jesus to call for repentance.
At the same time, there is the joyful
announcement that the kingdom of God is at hand. So much healing and new life is
accessible to humanity if only they open their hearts to it.
Several people do just that in this
Gospel reading. At the invitation of the Lord, fishermen drop everything and follow Him.
The first two to do so are Simon and Andrew. Jesus saw them casting their nets into the
sea. Was it the intensity of their efforts that contributed to their being candidates for
discipleship? Surprisingly, they abandon their nets and follow Jesus. The prospect of
becoming "fishers of men" seems to have captivated them.
Father along the shore of Galilee, Jesus
invites two others to follow Him. James and John leave everything and join the Lord=92s
company. Behind them in the boat, we see their father Zebedee and hired hands. But, it is
not the last we will see of boats and men. As the Gospel progresses, we will see Jesus and
His disciples in a boat many times as the Lord uses the boat and the sea to instruct His
disciples in the ways of faith. He will challenge them to trust in Him alone, even on the
stormy waters of Galilee. But, for the moment, these fishermen at least display a
readiness to open their hearts to God’s word.
The first reading contributes to the
theme of repentance as we find Jonah preaching in the great city of Nineveh. We are told
that Nineveh was so sprawling a city that it would take the prophet three days to make his
rounds through all its squares and plazas preaching the word of God. Yet surprisingly,
after his very first day of preaching, the entire city turns from its evil ways.
Jonah’s mission is a resounding success. The people of Nineveh escape the judgment in
store for them. Such is the power of repentance. If a pagan city like Nineveh could reap
such benefits from hearing the word of God, how much more could God’s own people
enjoy the benefits God had in store for them it
they would only heed their own prophets.
Unfortunately, a prophet like Jeremiah never had such success, even among the citizens of
Jerusalem where stood the temple of Solomon.
In his letter to the church in Corinth,
Paul reminds his spiritual brothers and sisters that the world in its present form will
not endure forever. They should live their lives mindful of God’s eternal kingdom.
(Father Schehr is a member of the
faculty at the Athenaeum in Cincinnati.)
