Word to the Wise
Monday, January 12, 2026 - Monday in the 1st Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Sam 1:1-8 and Mark 1:14-20]After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel." As he 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." [Mark]
When I have the chance to preach on this gospel passage in front of a congregation, I like to begin by asking the congregation to repeat after me: THIS IS THE TIME OF FULFILLMENT. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND. REPENT AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL! I get some puzzled looks as they repeat. Then I congratulate them on preaching their first homily! That gets me a chuckle or two, but the bottom line is that we are called by virtue of our baptism to preach that homily over and over again. Those words were enough to persuade Peter, Andrew, James and John to leave their boats and nets and follow a complete stranger! One might wonder what Zebedee and the hired help thought!!!
A common response to the challenge might be expressed in the words, "Yeah, yeah, but I don't have the CALL to do that!" If we are baptized, that is our call! Some might say, "I'm too introverted!" or "I'm uncomfortable talking about my faith!" There's more than one way to proclaim the gospel and each of us, if we take that gospel seriously, could take the time to figure out how best to do that. It might be as simple as that rosary hanging from the rearview mirror in the car, or the Sign of the Cross that we Catholics make for all kinds of occasions, including free throws and at bats in basketball and baseball!! More convincingly, the proclamation is made by the way we treat other people or invite them to join us at Mass or other liturgical event.
What we cannot afford to do is to take the attitude about the example of Jesus in the gospel: "That was then. This is now!" Well, the "then" of Jesus is the "now" for us! AMEN
Comment on Reflection
<< Previous Date [Back to List] Next Date >>