Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 21, 2024 - 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Jon 3:1-5, 10; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20]The word of the Lord came to Jonah, saying: "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you." So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord's bidding. [Jonah] As [Jesus] passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him. [Mark]
One might get the impression that Jonah was like the fishermen - Simon [Peter], Andrew, James and John - that Jesus called to be apostles. But the lectionary doesn't give us the complete story of Jonah. God called Jonah earlier in the story and Jonah tried to run away. He got in a boat to escape and God sent a storm. The sailors learned Jonah was trying to run away from God, so they threw Jonah overboard, where he was swallowed by the "whale" that kept him three days and then spit him up on the beach! Finally, Jonah got the message that God was not to be denied. The Gospel According to Mark (and the other two synoptic gospels) makes it look easy. Jesus says, "Come!" and they go! I think most of those whom I have talked to about why they chose priesthood or religious life would identify more with Jonah!!! But the story isn't just about those who make that choice. It's really about all of us.
Pope Francis, in his inaugural document, The Joy of the Gospel [Evangelii gaudium] states that by virtue of our baptism, we are all called to be "missionary disciples." Indeed, one of the principal achievements of the Second Vatican Council was to focus on baptism and its meaning for ALL the People of God, and not just for those who receive a special "call." The ministerial priesthood and religious life are special ways of living the baptismal commitment, but every priest or religious - every baptized person - is FIRST called to the "priesthood of the laity." Jesus calls all of us who are baptized. Where are we on the spectrum between Jonah, who tried to run away, and the fishermen who, according to Mark, just got up, left everything, and became "fishers of people?" AMEN