3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); 1-24-2021

Jon 3:1-5,10.  Ps 25.  1 Cor 7:29-31.  Mk 1:14-21

Deacon Jim McFadden

       Nearly twenty years ago, I was preparing an inmate at Folsom Minimum Security Facility for his confirmation on Christmas day, which was presided by then Auxiliary Bishop Richard Garcia (may he Rest in Peace).   He felt very honored that the Bishop would be present to minister the Sacrament.  The inmate was  very excited but wanted to stay focus on his pending Confirmation. So, he asked me, “Deacon, what should I meditate on?”  I encouraged him to trust the movement of his heart that got him to this moment.  I also reminded him that Confirmation is the not an  end point, but the continuation of a  process of becoming a disciple now empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  I also encouraged him to reflect on when he first heard that call, how he discerned what the Lord wanted of him, and how he has been changed in the process as he follows the Lord Jesus.  We talked about each one. 

            Looking back at that conversation, I think these are good questions to ask ourselves as we reflect upon our own  discipleship.  Let’s consider the following:

            The Invitation.  Jesus invites his disciples to follow him so that they may experience his divine Life, which enables us to taste eternity here and now!  Through him, we experience the love of God and neighbor, which is the world that God intended revealed in the opening chapters of Genesis 1-2.  Jesus does this in the only way he can, not by super-imposing himself upon us, but in God’s way: by awakening within us his tenderness and merciful  love; by awakening us to his compassion and forgiveness; by opening our eyes so that we can see reality as God sees it.  He invites us to generate new bonds with the Triune God and  human beings who are our brothers and sisters.  He invites us to embrace the new and eternal covenant of Christ Jesus, which is so rich in eternal life. 

            The Discerning Process.  The second stage of this Calling is discovering what the Lord is saying to us.   The call to discipleship is a profound moment in religious experience because our life will never be the same.  Through Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist the Holy Spirit is bursting into our lives, and today’s Gospel from Mark shows how it happens. 

            Jesus approaches two sets of brothers who are fishermen.  He is encountering them in their ordinary lives.  He simply says, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mk 1:17).  That’s it: simple, to the point—this is what I want you to do.  And, they do it because “they left their nets”—their comfort and security systems—“and followed him” (v. 18).  They are given an ‘either-or’ choice: are they going to make the courageous moral decision  for the Kingdom of God or not? 

            Pope Francis has put the issue quite simply when he said, “Jesus himself told us: “You cannot serve two masters: either you serve God or you serve mammon (cf. Mt 6:24).  In mammon itself there is this world spirit: money, vanity, pride, that path…we cannot take it…The Gospel is the Gospel!  God is One! And Jesus made himself a servant for our sake, and the spirit of the world has nothing to do with this” (Address to the Poor; 10-14-2015).

            Which side of the divide are we on?  We know where Jesus stands.  But, to the world of mammon, “…it doesn’t matter that children are dying of hunger; it doesn’t matter if many families have nothing to eat; …it doesn’t matter that many people forced to flee slavery and hunger and flee in search of freedom” (ibid.)

            The False Kingdoms of the world cause these things to happen—they are man made.  Our Holy Father Francis emphasizes that “It is unthinkable that a Christian would want to go down this path of worldliness, which is a homicidal attitude!  Spiritual worldliness kills!  It kills the soul!  It kills the person! It kills the Church! (Ibid.)

            These are challenging words to hear; they make us squirm.  But, it gets down to the nitty-gritty: are we willing to say “yes” to Jesus, who is Immanuel (God among us), or “no.”  There is no in-between.  Are we willing to let go of mammon, those external things which give us a temporary sense of satisfaction and identity.  Or, are we willing to leave everything and follow Jesus?

            The Resulting Transformation.  As we make a conscious, firm decision to follow Jesus, we will be radically changed because we will be abiding in his presence, which is another way of saying we are living in the Kingdom of God.  As we make this conversion (a.k.a. ‘repentance’), we find in Jesus a God who gets involved with our lives.  God gets involved and his grace will gradually conform our minds and our hearts to His own, which empowers us to have genuine relationships with our brothers and sisters who are co-members of the Body of Christ, the Church.  This transformational experience makes our sacred story an integral part of the history of Salvation. 

            The invitation that Jesus extended to the inmate at Folsom Prison is the same invitation that he offers us.  As we participate in the life of the Church, we’re called to renew our duties and responsibilities and to re-establish our priorities.  We must always remember that we are the recipients of a divine invitation to build a better world through our vocation and ministries.  And, as we fully, actively, and consciously participate in this call to discipleship, we will be changed into a new person.  As we proclaim through our life example that the Risen Christ is Lord, we will be conformed into his peace and joy.  What a challenge and what a glorious honor this is!  Thanks be to God! Amen.