Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (January 22^nd 2012)     

Mark 1:14-20

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Questions raised by this passage from the Gospel

1 Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand. Which kingdom do I give my allegiance to?

2. Who do I follow in my daily life? Jesus? Or someone else?

3. Do I believe that God can take my ordinary characteristics and use them to extraordinary effect?

4. In what sense can I, with my own natural characteristics and traits, become a "fisher of men"?

Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand. Which kingdom do I give my allegiance to?

This Sunday we continue to read from the Gospel of Mark and we hear of the call of the first disciples. The passage comes directly after the news that John the Baptist has been arrested, upon which the mission of Jesus immediately begins. Everything happens in its own time. When John the Baptist fell into the hands of the evil Herod, people may have thought that the time of grace had come to an end. But God always draws good from evil, light from darkness. God created the world from nothing, so who knows what he might do with our humble lives? From human failure God can make a new beginning. John's mission ends, and Jesus immediately appears, proclaiming the Kingdom of God!

            The good news that Jesus proclaims is that the time is "complete" and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. In other words, we are in touching distance of something marvellous, something whose moment has finally arrived. If the Kingdom of God is not here, then what is here? The kingdom of men, the kingdom of nothingness, the kingdom of evil, a kingdom of anarchy that lacks a true point of reference. If the Kingdom of God is not actual in our lives, then we are living an empty existence that is heading nowhere.

Embracing the Kingdom of God means making God the focal point of my life

If the Kingdom of Heaven is not here, then who is in charge here? This is a question that we should often ask ourselves? Who or what is dictating the course of our lives? To who, or to what, have I bound myself in order to survive? We are all vulnerable and insecure, and we need supports to lean on, lights to illuminate our darkness. Who do I lean on? What are the "lights" that I use to illuminate my way?

            The Kingdom of Heaven is near, and, if I choose, I can make God the focal point of my life. I can make him my strength, and my organising principle. The Kingdom of Heaven is near and I can change mentality completely. I can stop being a victim, move away from the sad, unhappy, and hopeless concerns that dominate my life. What a load of unnecessary preoccupations fill our heads! What silly obsessions we cultivate in our minds! How many trivial things fill up the space in our souls that should be reserved only for God! How many senseless things occupy the place in our hearts that can only be warmed by the certainty of the love of God for us!

            Jesus appears and tells us: "Change mentality and be converted! Leave behind that which is inconsistent and senseless! Reject that which is false and confused so that you will be able to believe in the Good News!" My soul was created to believe in the good. The human soul was made to believe in the Light. When one opens his heart to God, everything becomes a source of light and salvation.

Embracing the Kingdom means to follow Jesus and no-one else

All of this sounds good and warms the heart, but everything we have said so far remains only chatter unless something concrete arises from it. The Gospel goes on to relate how Jesus presents people with the opportunity to put these sentiments into action. He sees Simon and Andrew throwing their nets into the sea. It is a very ordinary act and there is nothing wrong with it. But there is something better that they could be doing. "Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!" It is important to understand well the significance of this phrase. To follow Jesus means to no longer follow anyone else. He alone deserves our attention. He alone has given his blood for us. He alone is willing to do anything for us. He alone knows how to look after us and love us. To follow Jesus means not to go ahead of him, in the sense of thinking that he should do what we want. To follow Jesus means to stop following others and asking "life" from them.

God uses the ordinary characteristics that we have, and transforms them to extraordinary effect

"I will make you fishers of men". This saying is curious in the sense that fishers of men must still perform the act of fishing, but the "prey" has been transformed. So God uses, in part, the talents that we already have. We remain ourselves with our own characteristics, but God uses us for a completely different and nobler end. How wonderful it is to "capture" (in the most beautiful of senses) another human being for God! To draw another human being from the sea of death, from the sea of nothingness! What a marvellous thing to be called to do, to bring good into the lives of others through our actions! Whatever our profession is at the moment, whatever our gifts or characteristics are, they can be transformed so that we can become fishers of men. I remain myself with my own ordinary characteristics, but my actions are transformed so that they have extraordinary effects on the lives of others.

It is our responsibility to follow Jesus, and it is Jesus' responsibility to transform us.

What a wonderful call! But we must be careful how we understand that call. In the Gospel, Jesus says, "I will make you fishers of men". This is not an act of ours, but an act of God. It is not sufficient for me to say resolutely, "From now on everything I do will be directed towards leading others to God!" If I try to do it on my own steam, then I will get so far and no further. We have to remember that it is the work of God that is at issue here. It is necessary in the first place to follow the Lord, obey him, and put ourselves in a condition to carry out his work. Jesus is telling us in this Gospel that it is our job to follow him, and it is his job to transform us.

            How many people waste their lives and do not know how to be fishers of men! How many people do not know how to express or defend the Gospel, or use the creativity that is in their hearts. Just consider the amount of beautiful things that there are to be done in this life! And it is our characteristics that can become beautiful in the hands of the Lord. We remain fishermen, but our work is taken and becomes for others an instrument of salvation.