3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 21/1/2018 - Gospel: Mk 1:14-20
Abandonment
Images on television showed abandonment places they reminded viewers that these places once were behold dearly and well looked after and care for because they were useful but today they had been neglected without anyone caring for because they needed them no more. The keeping of these places would be a burden and cost. They had been neglected and vandalised, dirty and dusted. The signs of abandonment and emptiness was obvious.
The people of Nineveh had abandoned the just way, the way of the Lord to follow their own way, their own ambition and God had sent the prophet Jonah to warn them to abandon the way that led to doom and destruction. To avoid destruction and death they needed to come back to God's. Listening to Jonah the whole town had put on sackcloth and did fasting as the sign of their repentance and conversion and God saved them.
The responsorial psalm is on the same theme when we pray to learn from God and asked God to teach us the way of love and mercy and forgiveness:
Teach me your ways, O Lord Ps 24,4a.
It is the way of the Lord that brings peace for a disturbed mind. It brings consolation for a trouble heart. It offers you a good night sleep and brings hope at dawn and joy for a new day. It makes you feel that you are being loved and you need to share God's love for those who are fortunate cross your path that day. St Paul in his wisdom reminds us that visible images we can see and world's material we love to have is passing away. Don't take hold to the passing world in its present form but we need to go deeper to labour for God's love which is hidden under of the world's materials. Those who are humble at heart would see it and uphold it. Without humility we are unable to believe in the Gospel because the message of the Gospel is designed for the humble. God's love is to be trusted, not tested. When you test someone you have some queries about that person. God's love is to be welcomed with the simplicity of the mind and uphold with the open heart and those who accept it will find that their lives have been changed.
The pair Simon and his brother Andrew had followed Jesus and another pair of brothers was James and John who also followed Jesus. The two pairs became the first followers of Jesus. They had boldly abandoned their former profession- fisherman to take up a new vocation- fisher of man- and had committed themselves to the evangelization. The Bible mentioned that they left their net, boat and their fathers to follow. In other words they had made their choice, made up their mind by choosing something which they believed it was much better than that what they were now doing. They had fully placed their trust in Jesus and his love even though they had limited understood the call to follow what it meant to be fisher of man . They had responded positively to God's call to follow, turning towards God and believed in the Gospel's message. We need to ask ourselves about the personal commitment, the involvement to serve other parishioners at St Francis Xavier's Parish.
The people of Nineveh had abandoned the just way, the way of the Lord to follow their own way, their own ambition and God had sent the prophet Jonah to warn them to abandon the way that led to doom and destruction. To avoid destruction and death they needed to come back to God's. Listening to Jonah the whole town had put on sackcloth and did fasting as the sign of their repentance and conversion and God saved them.
The responsorial psalm is on the same theme when we pray to learn from God and asked God to teach us the way of love and mercy and forgiveness:
Teach me your ways, O Lord Ps 24,4a.
It is the way of the Lord that brings peace for a disturbed mind. It brings consolation for a trouble heart. It offers you a good night sleep and brings hope at dawn and joy for a new day. It makes you feel that you are being loved and you need to share God's love for those who are fortunate cross your path that day. St Paul in his wisdom reminds us that visible images we can see and world's material we love to have is passing away. Don't take hold to the passing world in its present form but we need to go deeper to labour for God's love which is hidden under of the world's materials. Those who are humble at heart would see it and uphold it. Without humility we are unable to believe in the Gospel because the message of the Gospel is designed for the humble. God's love is to be trusted, not tested. When you test someone you have some queries about that person. God's love is to be welcomed with the simplicity of the mind and uphold with the open heart and those who accept it will find that their lives have been changed.
The pair Simon and his brother Andrew had followed Jesus and another pair of brothers was James and John who also followed Jesus. The two pairs became the first followers of Jesus. They had boldly abandoned their former profession- fisherman to take up a new vocation- fisher of man- and had committed themselves to the evangelization. The Bible mentioned that they left their net, boat and their fathers to follow. In other words they had made their choice, made up their mind by choosing something which they believed it was much better than that what they were now doing. They had fully placed their trust in Jesus and his love even though they had limited understood the call to follow what it meant to be fisher of man . They had responded positively to God's call to follow, turning towards God and believed in the Gospel's message. We need to ask ourselves about the personal commitment, the involvement to serve other parishioners at St Francis Xavier's Parish.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia