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Homily for the third Sunday
of the year - Year A - Mt. 4:12-23
by
Canon Dr. Daniel Meynen
" When Jesus heard that
John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth
he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun
and Naphtali, that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be
fulfilled: «The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward
the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people who
sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the
region and shadow of death light has dawned.» From that time
Jesus began to preach, saying, «Repent, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand.»
" As he walked by the Sea
of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew
his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And
he said to them, «Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men.» Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And
going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee
and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending
their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and
their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching
in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing
every disease and every infirmity among the people. "
Homily:
" When Jesus heard that
John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth
he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun
and Naphtali. "
If the baptism of Jesus
inaugurates the public aspect of his mission among men, the moment of
John the Baptist's arrest by King Herod (cf. Mk. 6:17; Mt. 14:3) allows
Jesus to become very close to each one of us by taking on the
appearance of a convert. Indeed, it is at that moment that Jesus
decides to return to Galilee and, after preaching for the first time in
Nazareth, settle in Capernaum. Now, this region of Galilee is where
Christ would tell his disciples to seek him after his Resurrection:
Galilee is the region of the new times, the times that are no longer
those of the earth, but those of Heaven!
Galilee, Capernaum, it is
in this region that Mount Tabor is located, the place where humanity
regenerated in Christ would appear in all its splendor, more brilliant
than a thousand suns! Jesus wants to definitively appear as a new man:
he wants to be converted with the converts! But, you will say to me,
Jesus is the Savior, and he has no need for conversion. This is
absolutely true... Nevertheless, if Jesus cannot make himself close to
us through a conversion of the heart, he can offer us the example of
conversion through a change of place: what his soul and his spirit
cannot accomplish, his body does!
" From that time Jesus
began to preach, saying, «Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand.» "
The habit does not make the
monk, it is said. This means that if our conversion is purely exterior,
it is useless. What counts is the conversion of the heart. Why do we go
to Sunday Mass? To see our friends, or even just the priest? Or to give
glory to God? Why do we have our children baptized? To do like everyone
else does? Or to give faithful servants to the Church and to God? Why
do we get married? For human love? Or for love of God? Let us not be
afraid to ask ourselves questions like these, for as Jesus says: "the
kingdom of heaven is at hand."
" As he walked by the Sea
of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew
his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And
he said to them, «Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men.» Immediately they left their nets and followed him. "
Jesus, having moved to
Capernaum, lives near the shore of the Sea of Galilee, also called the
Lake of Tiberias. It is on the shore of this lake that he would meet
Simon and his brother Andrew. Indeed, all three already know each
other: they had spoken some time earlier, when Simon, and especially
Andrew, were disciples of John the Baptist (cf. Jn. 1:35). Jesus even
said to Simon: "You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called
Cephas." (Jn.1:42) And from that day, Simon-Peter and Andrew, as well
as other disciples, followed Jesus...
Simon-Peter and Andrew are
quick to follow Jesus. Their bodies follow the Master, but, in truth,
their spirit is still far from following the teaching of the Savior of
men. A miracle, doubtless that of the first miraculous catch of fish,
recorded by Saint Luke (5:4), and which occurs at about this time, will
be the occasion for the radical, deep conversion of the disciples:
"Immediately they left their nets and followed him."
This is surely one of the
great miracles of the grace of God: to make man capable of leaving all
in order to follow the Lord! But why did the disciples Simon-Peter and
Andrew return to their first occupation, after having followed Christ
for some time? Would it not have been Jesus himself who sent them to
fish? It is as if the holy women, on the day of the Resurrection, had
already transmitted to the disciples the words of the Angel: "Go
quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and
behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him."
(Mt. 28:7)
Like Simon-Peter and
Andrew, let us await the return of the Lord, not in idleness, but
rather as we attend to our daily occupations, such as fishing, for
example... For it is these simple daily actions that, when done for the
Lord, will make each of us "fishers of men"! May the Most Blessed
Virgin Mary, who always followed her divine Son, help us with her
almighty prayer!
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