Year B: Third Sunday After Epiphany

And They Left Everything

This is the special grace of Epiphany. In view of his divine dignity and power, the Son of God gathers into himself the entire human family past, present and future. The moment that the Eternal Word is uttered outside the bosom of the Trinity and steps forth into the human condition, the Word gives himself to all creatures. - Thomas Keating¹

Over the next few weeks, we will be contemplating the revelation of Jesus to several groups of people: the apostles, those afflicted with demons, and many who were sick and in need of a Savior. As we celebrate the Epiphany of Jesus to these blessed few, may Jesus appear in our lives in new ways and with a new intensity.

Year B, Third Sunday After Epiphany, January 14, 2024

First Reading: Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Psalm:Psalm 62:6-12

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Gospel: Mark 1:14-20

Sermon - And They Left Everything

There was a man sent from God whose name was Jonah. Well, sent is one way of putting it, but can you really call it being sent if the person never goes? God wanted Jonah to preach to the children of God, but in this case, the children of God were not sons and daughters of Abraham; instead, they were raised out of the stones of Assyria.

The people of Nineveh had done a great wickedness before God, and they were in desperate need of repentance, but when they needed God the most, the prophet whom God chose ran. He ran quickly.

Traversing land and sea, Jonah intended of going away from Nineveh, but God had other plans. Through a strange twist of providence, Jonah was spit out on the banks of the sea and began his journey to Nineveh.

The book of Jonah functions as a subversive story of national repentance which was intended to undercut a kind of rabid nationilism. Quite like Ruth, Jonah offers commetary and critique on other figures and texts contained in the Hebrew Scriptures which seem to paint Israel as God’s exclusive people.

As the reader identifies with Jonah, they experience the shock of the call, the realization of the error, the fear of the fish, the acceptance of grace and a second chance, but then the secondary shock when the unthinkable happens: Niniveh repents.

What do we do with this? Do we sulk with Jonah or do we accept Nineveh’s devotion to God? And what do we make of Jonah’s inital reluctance as well as God’s radical grace?

In the New Testament, another prophet who experienced a third-day resurrection came preaching repentnace. Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). After beginning his ministry, Jesus called Simon and Andrew.

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Mark 1:16–17

What would they do? Would they follow this Rabbi? Would they flee on their boats? Would they continue to cast their nets into the sea and pretend that Jesus wasn’t there?

And immediately they left their nets and followed him. Mark 1:18

Jesus went a little farhter and called to another set of brothers, but these were accompanied by their father.

As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. Mark 1:19–20

These brothers didn’t just leave their nets; they left their father to follow Jesus. Notice how the word immediately hangs in there air in both texts. This calling was not gradual. It was not like Jesus would make the offer and then stay at the hotel for a few days while he waited for their response.

He called them, and they immediatly left behind everything to follow him.

Can we take a few moments to appreciate how they were already prepared to receive the Messiah. No questions asked. No excuses. “I’ve married a bride.” “I’ve purchased a field.”

He called. They went.

No excuses, whales, or regurgitation required.

They had the attitude of Paul:

I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. 1 Corinthians 7:29–31

For them the call of the kingdom meant leaving behind everything. We might think that we could never do that. We might even be a little grateful that we didn’t receive the same calling as Peter or Andrew or Paul.

But in a sense, we have.

We have all been called to live in the world but not be of the world. We have all been called to take up our crosses and follow Jesus. While we may go about our lives in more or less the same way, in another sense we are all part of a new creation, a kingdom of priests.

So, let us go forth and become fishers of men. For the kingdom of God is here.

Second Reading - Coping with Hard Times

“I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:29–31).

When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, they were dealing with several kinds of trouble: persecution, famine, religious division, and temptations of the flesh. Paul dealt with these different sources of difficulties in several ways He appealed to the unity that is found in Christ and the wisdom which comes from above to deal with their division. He reminded them of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their life to call them to godliness. And he recalled the suffering of the Christ and the glory to follow to encourage them to endure persecution. 

But how would they deal with other evils they would face such as famine? Agabus, a prophet in Acts, had predicted that a famine would take place around the time that Paul first encountered and helped found the Corinthian church (Acts 11:28). Historical and archeological sources corroborate the fulfillment of Agabus’s prophecy. 

Rereading the text above, one could see how love for the kingdom of heaven and a certain detachment from worldly things might help a struggling church cope with the situation afflicting the world at the time. When the world seems to offer us little, it is the hope of life in the presence of God that anchors the soul. 

Reflections

It was good to be back to worship in person this week. I felt like the Bible study and the worship service went really well. Towards the end of the sermon, one of the elementary school girls spoke out. “Hey Daniel,” she said, “I know who else is always with us—God.”

I thought that was really nice, and I’m glad she doesn’t view me as unapproachable up there on stage separated from everyone else. She was kind, respectful, and she was hanging on to every word of the sermon. It was awesome.

Thanks so much for keeping up with this blog. If you have any suggestions, recommendations, or critiques, you can always comment here or reach out through my website: https://danielr.net.

1. Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.