25TH JAN 2015, 3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B. READINGS JONAH 3:1-5, 10 1 CORINTHIANS 7:29-31 MARK 1:14-20 Jesus, in today’s gospel (Mark) is featured as announcing the presence of the reign of God and of calling to repentance and faith all those who would experience that reign in their lives. Jonah, in the first reading, had been sent by God to call to repentance the people of Nineveh. The capital city of Assyria, Nineveh was the most grandiose and powerful city in the ancient world during the reigns of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. But the city was also notorious for its lack of morals and the idolatrous, decadent life-style of its inhabitants. However, God’s concerns extended even to those foreign pagans and he sent Jonah to them to preach repentance. Just as the first and second readings were better understood in light of contemporary biblical scholarship, so also is today’s gospel pericope from Mark. A glance at last Sunday’s gospel (Johannine account of the calling of the first disciples), will reveal the fact that the evangelists were not precise chroniclers of Jesus’ words and works. Rather each inspired writer, with his own personal talents and sources, has taken the oral tradition preserved within his community and has shaped a gospel according to his own christological and soteriological insights, and in keeping with the pastoral situation and concerns of his readers. For this reason, the same events, e.g., Jesus’ calling of his disciples, have been presented somewhat differently by each of the evangelists. According to Mark, Jesus’ public ministry began after John the Baptizer’s arrest. The inaugural declaration of Jesus as presented in Mark is a call to reform and faith (v. 15). Just as association with Jesus will involve suffering so also will discipleship necessitate conversion. In Hebrew, the word for reform is shubh which means an about-face or a deliberate change of direction; in Greek, the term meta-noiein means a change of mind, heart, will, intention and motivation. For contemporary readers of Mark’s gospel, this narrative offers a definite reason for rejoicing. Jesus did not go to the synagogue, temple, university or Sanhedrin to call the best and the brightest to himself. His followers are chosen from every walk of life. The initiative for discipleship, just as the initiative for conversion is rooted in the call of Jesus. We, for our part, would do well to follow the lead of our predecessors in responding immediately (v. 18) and with a wholehearted abandon (vv. 18, 20) which daily chooses Jesus first and glories in the blessings of “all else besides” (Luke 12:31). Wishing you a blessed Sunday .
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 03:15:58 +0000
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