3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time –
January 22, 2023
Is
8:23—9:3 • 1 Cor 1:10–13, 17 • Mt 4:12–23
Theme:
The Continued Reading of the Bible Helps us to Stay United with God and with
Each Other
Saint
Jerome, who translated most of the Bible into Latin in the fourth century,
says, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”. Today is the Word
of God’s Sunday. We recognize the centrality of God’s Word in the life of the
Church and in our families. In his Apostolic Letter, Motu Proprio “Aperuit
Illis”, published on September 30, 2019, Pope Francis establishes that “the
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, Study, and
dissemination of the Word of God”. Here Pope Francis is asking us to do three
things with the Bible: first, to celebrate; second, to study it; and third, to
disseminate or share it. In obedience to Pope Francis’ recommendation, our
parish Saint Bartholomew/Saint Augustine is attending 3-day Bible Study Classes
that I am teaching. We started on Wednesday, January 11th, the
second class was last Wednesday, January 18th, and the last one will
be this coming Wednesday, January 25th still at 5: 30pm at Saint
Bartholomew’s parish hall (in person), and online via Zoom. Many people from
different states and dioceses (especially those from the parishes where SVD
missionaries serve) are attending virtually. So, let us celebrate, study, and disseminate
the Word of God.
In
the scripture readings of this Sunday of the Bible, we heard a dramatic example
of how the words that the prophet Isaiah wrote in the Old Testament came alive
centuries later in the New Testament with Jesus. In our first reading. Prophet
Isaiah saw the darkness and gloom that the Assyrians brought into the people of
Israel when they destroyed their city starting in the northern tribes of
Zebulun and Naphtali. He also saw the great light that shone on them and how
God brought them abundant joy. This Assyrian oppression could be interpreted in
a spiritual dimension today. People today are in bondage to sins and in the
gloom of Satan. We need spiritual freedom as the people of Israel needed freedom
from the Assyrian persecution. Eight hundred years later Matthew, in today’s
Gospel passage, tells us of Jesus who starts his public ministry exactly in the
region of Zebulun and Naphtali, the same cities that were first destroyed by
the Assyrians in our first reading story. The evangelist comments that this is
in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. The Matthean Jesus is the “great light”
foretold by Isaiah who continues to overcome the darkness of our time today. Sin
darkens our lives and creates divisions among us and between us and God. Jesus’s
first preoccupation as he begins his public ministry is to reunite us with God
and with one another. This is also what Saint Paul deals with in our second
reading.
To
better understand our Gospel passage, let us first try to know the context of Isaiah’s
prophecy that we heard in the first reading. Note that Isaiah served as God’s
prophet for about forty years in the Southern kingdom of Judah. During that
time, he witnessed the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians
in 733 BC and the Syrians in 732 BC. When Isaiah delivered this prophecy that
we heard in our first reading, Ahaz, the king of the Southern kingdom, Judah, was
facing considerable pressure from Syria and the Northern kingdom of Israel to team
up with them against Assyria. When Ahaz refused their demand, Syria and Israel
invaded Judah. Their plan was to unseat Ahaz. This event is known as the
Syro-Ephraimite War. In 721, the Assyrians deported the people of Israel and
devastated the entire northern kingdom. Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of
Judah became a vessel of Assyria. This truly was a dark period in the history
of Judah.
After
grasping the context of our first reading, let us now see how we can apply
Isaiah’s prophecy to our lives today. The prophet commences his prophecy by mentioning
the destruction of the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali (v. 23) because these northern
tribes were the first ones to be destroyed by the Assyrians. After the north,
the Assyrians conquered the “land west of the Jordan” (or beyond) that our
first reading names “the district of the Gentiles”. (Some translations read “Galilee
of the Nations). While the image of Israel’s bondage by the Assyrians is political,
this situation explains how many people today are in bondage to sin and to
Satan. Today, we see the “gloom” that comes from being addicted to behaviors
and actions that harm our relationship with God and with the people in our
societies and families. The gloom extinguishes the love of God and of our neighbor
from our hearts. Moreover, beyond the material
and physical powers of Assyrians, there are spiritual “Assyrian” powers (demons)
in our world that continue to devastate our spiritual lives. The Devil incites
us to sin. His goal is to separate us from God and our Church Community and
bring darkness and gloom into our lives. Our societies and families need spiritual
freedom from the bondage of the devil. The prophet Isaiah prophesized and
reassured us that one day, God will restore hope to Israel and to us today. He
saw our gloom and darkness turning to light and joy, and the rod of the
oppressors being broken “as on the day of Midian”. (Isaiah 9: 1-3). The “yoke”,
“pole”, and “rod” are symbols of Assyrian oppression. Today, they are symbols
of the devil’s oppression of addictions, racism, social injustice, and immoral
laws that lead people to commit immoral actions, etc. The mention of “the day
of Midian” refers to the stunning defeat of the Midianite tribes by Gideon.
(See the book of Judges 6-8). Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled with the coming of
Jesus who came to restore interior freedom and joy to all those who are
oppressed spiritually.
Today’s
Gospel is the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Note that from this third
Sunday in Ordinary Time, we start the ad seriatim, or sequential reading
of Matthew’s Gospel (since we are in the Liturgical Year A) which will continue
until the end of November. In the passage we just heard, Matthew tells us that Jesus
commences his public ministry in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. These two
regions are those that were the first to be destroyed by the Assyrians as we
mentioned in our first reading analysis. By commencing his public ministry in
these regions, Matthew wants to teach us that Jesus started his ministry of the
reunification of Israel. The mission of Jesus is to unify the people of Israel
including you and me today. Since the bondage that Isaiah talked about in our
first reading was more spiritual than political which refers to the bondage to
sin, the first-ever preaching of Jesus calls us to repent to be freed from the
bondage of sins and to start a new life with him in the kingdom of heaven that
he came to establish. Notice, Matthew talks about “the kingdom of heaven” not
the kingdom of God as we see in other Gospels. The reason is that Matthew
addresses his Gospel mostly to the Christians from a Jewish background, and the
Jews, out of respect for the name of God, do not speak the name aloud. Regardless
of whatever phrase we use, “kingdom of God” or “kingdom of heaven”, we need to
know that Jesus does not talk about the kingdom as a place but rather as the
reign of God when God’s power is fully manifest. Repentance from our sins is
required for us to enjoy the “kingdom” or the “reign” of heaven.
We
cannot enjoy the reign of God ourselves while our brothers and sisters are
still in the darkness of sins and under the occupation of the spiritual power
of the devil. Jesus calls you and me as he calls the first four disciples in
our Gospel passage. Let us analyze some important points in this section. First,
the invitation to discipleship is initiated by Jesus. Second, Jesus encounters
these four men in their everyday work (fishing). Third, discipleship does not necessarily
require intellectual diplomas because the invitation of Jesus is to an active
mission. Fourth, this calling’s story stresses the totality and immediacy of
the response of these first disciples. They left their boats and nets (meaning
their livelihood), and their father in the case of James and John (meaning
their families). Jesus encounters you and me in our daily lives, invites us to discipleship,
does not request our intellectual diplomas or curriculum vitae, and expects us
to follow him immediately and with total dedication. Jesus calls us to make us
the “fishers” of our brothers and sisters. Our mission consists of bringing
Jesus’s great light wherever the devil spreads the darkness. Where there is the
darkness of division, hate, sadness, lack of peace, and immoral practices and
actions, we are called to bring Jesus’ great light of unity, love, joy, and peace,
and denounce with courage all immoral laws that lead people to sinful practices
and actions. Our mission as Jesus’ disciples is to help the people in our
societies and families live in unity with one another and with God.
In
our second reading, Saint Paul continues the same theme of unity. For the next
several weeks, our second readings will be taken from Saint Paul’s first Letter
to the Corinthians. Today’s passage is the beginning of the body of this letter.
Notice, immediately following thanksgiving in the introduction (vv. 1-9), Paul
commences his letter by exhorting his people to unity because the Church
community of Corinth was wracked with divisions. The reading says that it is Chloe’s
people who reported to Paul about the division among the Corinthians. Some Bible
scholars affirm that these people were the employees or slaves of Chloe who was
an otherwise unknown businesswoman. Chloe and her servants were followers of
Jesus. Apparently, the servants visited the Community of Corinth on their
business trip, and then they heard about the divisions among the people and
probably witnessed themselves. Then, they reported to Paul what they saw and
heard.
The
divisions are based on the allegiances that the people formed around their
spiritual leaders: Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), and Christ. Paul teaches them
that their divisions do not make sense because Christ is not divided. All
people belong to Christ. Our communities, societies, and families also face
divisions today although all of us claim to be the children of the same Father,
God. If we believe in the same God and if we accept Jesus as our savior, we
should not be divided. God is one, and the Church of Jesus is one, therefore,
we are called to be one in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The
scripture readings of this Sunday of the Word of God exhort us to unity among
us and with God. Sin separates us from God and from our Church community. Satan’s
mission is to put people in bondage to sin with the intention of causing
division between us and God and between us and our fellow humans. Living in a division
with God and with the Church community means living in the darkness and gloom
of the oppression of Satan. Jesus’s mission is to bring his great light into
our lives and restore our unity among us and with God. This can be possible
only if we accept his invitation to repent and become his disciples. The continued
reading and sharing of God’s Word will help us strengthen our relationship with
Jesus and experience here on earth the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
Rev.
Leon Ngandu, SVD
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