January 26, 2003 Third Sunday in
Ordinary Time
The information and
commentary presented each week on this page are actually notes
for the Saturday Scripture Class held at St. Raymond Parish,
Dublin, Ca. These notes are not intended to be used in isolation
but as background information for the readings and starting
points for group discussion. This page is updated with the
following Sunday's readings each Sunday night (California Time).
The Saturday Morning Scripture Class meets to discuss the weekend
Mass readings each Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 in the Conference
Room or in Multipurpose Room Number 2. No registration or prior
arrangement is needed; everyone is welcome
anytime.
This Sunday the readings
call us to consider the role of sin and repentance in our lives.
Jonah reminds us of the effect that a call to repentance can have
on people who are willing to listen to the call. The disciples in
the Gospel are called to follow Jesus. Such a call to
wholeheartedly follow the Lord is fundamentally a call to
continual conversion and repentance. We are constantly being
called to turn, more and more away from sin and more and more
towards God. This was true in the first century and it is still
true in the 21st century. Paul reminds us that the totality of
our commitment must affect how we live. While often, the outward
acts may not be much different than those of the society around
us, our inner motives and purposes must be those of
Christ.
First Reading: Jonah 3:1-5,
10
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a
second time: 2 "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and
announce to it the message that I will tell you." 3 So Jonah made
ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD'S bidding. Now
Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go
through it. 4 Jonah began his journey through the city, and had
gone but a single day's walk announcing, "Forty days more and
Nineveh shall be destroyed," 5 when the people of Nineveh
believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and
small, put on sackcloth.
10 When God saw by their actions how
they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he
had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it
out.
NOTES on First Reading:
* 3:3 After having refused to obey God
before, this time Jonah goes to Nineveh apparently having
realized that he can't get away from God.
* 3:4 The Hebrew expression for "shall
be destroyed" is probably intended to remind the reader of the
"overthrowing" of the wicked cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, by a
special act of God (Gen 18:21; 19:13, 25).
The city is described as being so large
that it takes three days to go through it (Jonah 3:3). The city
was legendary for both the enormity of its size and the enormity
of its cruelty and violence. The greatness of the miracle is
enhanced by the conversion having happened after Jonah had barely
begun his preaching. The suddenness and totality of the
conversion are contrasted against the barely begun half-hearted
efforts of an unenthusiastic and reluctant prophet.
In Hebrew, the proclamation of Jonah is
barely five words long and yet it achieves an incredible effect
on the people.
In the scriptures forty is usually a symbolic number referring
to a sufficient amount. It usually means as long as or as much as
is necessary.
* 3:5 This verse expresses the total
change that Nineveh underwent. The term that is translated as
"believed God" is the same term used in key texts such as Gen
15:6 and Exod 14:31 where Abraham and the people of God respond
with true faith in God. It refers to something far greater than
simply believing the words of Jonah's warning. Wearing sackcloth
was an ancient sign of repentance.
* 3:10 St. Augustine wrote that Nineveh
was indeed "overthrown. " It was "overthrown in evil, but rebuilt
in goodness."
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:
29-31
29 I tell you, brothers, the time is
running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not
having them, 30 those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as
not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, 31 those using the
world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is
passing away.
NOTES on Second Reading:
* 7:29-31 Paul believes that the world will
pass away soon because Jesus is about to return and so he advises
Christians to go about all the ordinary activities of life in a
manner which is different from the rest of humanity who are
totally immersed in those activities and are unaware of their
transitory nature. Today, most of us are not expecting Jesus'
return to be immanent but the advice is still good because the
world as we know it is passing away. Regardless of how much time
is left before the return of Jesus, He will come and the world
will pass away. For us the question must be: " Is my life ordered
toward the passing values of the world or is it ordered toward
the everlasting values of Jesus?"
Gospel Reading: Mark 1:
14-20
14 After John had been arrested, Jesus
came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 15 "This is the
time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and
believe in the gospel."
16 As he passed by the Sea of
Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets
into the sea; they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, "Come
after me, and I will make you fishers of men." 18 Then they
abandoned their nets and followed him. 19 He walked along a
little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother
John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. 20 Then he
called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along
with the hired men and followed him.
NOTES on Gospel:
*1:14 In Jesus, the Kingdom of God is near
and that is Good News. The Rule of God is described in Ps 97:1-12
98:1-9 99:1-9.
* 1:15 The word, "Fulfilled," expresses
the continuity between the stages of God's plan. The Kingdom of
God is present when the will of God is done. In Jesus the will of
God is lived out perfectly and so the Kingdom of God is always
present in Him.
* 1:18 In abandoning their nets, the
newly called disciples leave their old lives behind in a radical
response to the call to repent and believe in the Good News.
Repenting and believing the Good News is the same as following
Jesus. It is still the way to follow Him today. Although not all
are called to live it out in such a radical way, all are called
to follow Jesus with the same radical degree of
commitment.
* 1:19 Peter, James and John form the
inner circle of Jesus' followers. They form his special prayer
team who go with Him into the house of Jarius (5:37), the mount
of transfiguration (9:2), and in the Garden of Gethsemane
(14:33). Gal 2:9 says that they were considered to be pillars of
the church.
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The scripture quotes are from the text of the New American Bible with revised New Testament
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