Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B –Sunday, January 24, 2021 (EPISODE: 274)

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B –Sunday, January 24, 2021

(EPISODE: 274)

Readings for 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
FIRST READING: Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Ps 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9. "Teach me your ways, O Lord."
SECOND READING: 1 Cor 7: 29-31
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Mark 1: 15). Alleluia, alleluia! The Kingdom of God is near. Believe the Good News.
GOSPEL: Mark 1: 14-20

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image: ID:72512117. SAN GIMIGNANO, ITALY - JULY 11, 2017: Fresco depicting Jesus calling of Saint Peter and Andrew, in the Collegiata of San Gimignano, Italy. By jorisvo.
++++
Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Sunday, January 24, 2021 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-third-sunday-of-ordinary-time-year-b-episode-274  (EPISODE: 274)
+++++
Prologue: (Fr Paul): -Our first reading this weekend is from the wonderful Book of Jonah. This delightful and very short book of the bible is well worth reading in its entirety. [Have a look here: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/a-plus/OT-excerpt-book-of-jonah.pdf].

We only get a small but delicious taste of the book of Jonah in today's reading.  Prior to this, God has told Jonah to go and preach repentance to the people of the great city of Nineveh. But, Jonah hates the people there and does not want to go and preach repentance; because they are his enemies and he is worried they might turn and repent and be saved; and Jonah didn't want that. 

Jonah seems happy to have everything just the way it always was. That is, with Jonah and his people's good books, and people like the Ninevites, in God's bad books, marked for destruction. It is all very well complaining about how bad people are who don't agree with us or do the wrong thing by us, but what if our enemies were to see the error of their ways and change? They would become no longer enemies but allies, and this would require a whole new way of thinking, relating and acting. It's all too much!! At least when someone is in the category of "the enemy," where have them carefully labelled and we know where they stand. Repentance means a whole new situation.

So, Jonah runs away in the opposite direction. But we all know that you cannot run away from God. God pursues him and continues to call on him to deliver God's message of love and God's heartfelt invitation to repent.  

Jonah does not have a vested interest in them, but God does. God created the Ninevites, as much as God created Jonah. God loves them and cares for them, and wants them to turn away from sin and be saved. 

Jonah, (perhaps like us too),  doesn't want change or surprise. We all bemoan the contrariness of a rival or an enemy but do we really desire that they change their ways because this means new ways of relating to them as well.

The slow but sure emerging of the Kingdom of God MEANS change and transformation… and that is painful and challenging and at times very unsettling; because it means a re-ordering of values and changing of relationships. It means inviting "inside" those who were previously "outside" God's chosen ones. Also, possibly some will also find themselves "outside" who used to be "inside."  God has a way of turning things on their head. And for Jonah and the Ninevites, this is one of those great examples.

At times I wonder if we fully appreciate how truly different God's ways are to human's ways and thoughts, and what that means for us who are Disciples of Christ.
 
You could imagine the half-hearted, whispering "calling-out" of Jonah as the preaches "repent now or in forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!."   Only to find the people saying: "What was that you were whispering?  Repent or perish?  Oh, okay. We repent! We will change immediately. Thank you for this warning, we will truly heed it. Quickly everyone, proclaim fasting and penance!"  

Jonah was appalled and horrified. They have changed. They will be saved! They are now his friends (not his enemies). So Jonah goes off sulking and is mortally offended with God. But, isn't God right to care about his people???

Today's readings are all rather striking!

Each of them shows a response which is immediate and wonderful.
· Jonah preaches and The Ninevites surprisingly repent and change Immediately.
· Paul calls upon everyone to live in the immediate moment, for the day of the Lord is imminent.
· Jesus calls his disciples and they leave IMMEDIATELY!

Jesus' call is offering a whole new world, a new vision and a new set of relationships. The values of the gospel are revealed in their fullness.

If the disciples paused and thought about what they were doing, they could have dreamt up heaps of reasons why they shouldn't go…  their business, the risks, the insecurity, and so on….    But they did not let these things get in the way. Thank goodness, they responded to the call straight away.  This is not encouraging recklessness because surely Jesus called people after a lot of prayer and discernment and he called disciples whom he had observed were already living in a way that showed their longing for the values of the Kingdom to be established in its fullness.
Along comes Jesus… and he says- "the time has arrived..  come… follow me…."  (and they DO. IMMEDIATELY). (It is what they have been waiting for!).

In our lives, Jesus calls each one of us, in big and small ways -  in the daily events and people of life. In our words, actions and priorities, let us respond immediately and with trust.
 +++++
Fr Peter Homily -   3rd Sunday – Ordinary Time – Year B – 2021

Whenever we hear the word 'conversion' we think it applies to other people, those who are yet to hear the word of God. That's not us, we think. I'm already here in Church. But are we really here really present ready to hear and act upon what we hear? That is the real meaning of conversion. Ready to hear, act and transform ourselves.

Similarly when Jesus began his public ministry with the call to "Repent and believe the Good news", to whom was he referring? Was it simply meant for sinners or was it directed at everyone, even the good and those who already believed? Why did they need to repent?

Repentance and conversion are the two themes of today's readings. Many of us find the idea of repentance a disturbing one. To repent means to change one's outlook on life, and to adjust one's outlook accordingly. It means a change of heart and a change of life, sometimes even a complete reversal of life. As such it is bound to be painful, which is why people are so slow to embrace it. Often it is easier to let things stay the same and we want our beliefs to just be left alone. We may not want to look too deeply or question our values and attitudes, in case in honesty, we find ourselves living a rather shallow and uniformed faith.

To answer the call to repentance one must first have a feeling of dissatisfaction or that something is missing and we are longing for something better. The conversion experience begins with the realisation that we are not what we could and should be. Of course, this realisation requires, no, it demands honesty and humility that will put an end to our self-deception. The courage to admit one's guilt, ask for forgiveness and confront a painful reality.

Of course, some people can see where they should be heading but still don't move. They want any changes to happen by means of a magic wand, with little or no discomfort to our prayer life or pastoral involvements.

Repentance is not simply about feeling guilty, it is about discovering something wonderful about yourself, mainly that you have potentialities that you didn't know you had. It can offer you a new, clearer vision, ways of living better and opening you up to a new life with new ways of being with God.

To repent means to be converted and we would be mistaken in thinking that it is a quick process. In Mark's Gospel, we get the impression that the call of the disciples was both short and instantaneous and that their relationship with Jesus came out of the blue. St. John, however, makes it clear that this was not the case. He lets us know that their connection with Jesus had to go through stages of growth which probably began with them standing in the crowd, listening to him and then gradually getting to know him personally. Of course, once they met him they felt the magnetism of his personality, they came to see that the light he shone for them was clear and strong and made possible their decision to follow him. We know then that they literally left everything they had come to value before –their livelihood, possessions, security and family. Complete and utter devotion. We might have said that they were unbalanced to do such a thing if we ourselves hadn't recognised some of that same zeal in our own involvement with Jesus. We know that in order to follow our faith we are called to make similar sacrifices around our ambitions, securities and plans and it does often involve moving into the unknown. All potentially confronting for us, until we weigh up what we receive in return. Each time we accept the invitation to "Follow me", we necessarily need to turn away from something, and that is the price of heeding the call to discipleship.

We honestly know that when we are left to ourselves we tend to follow the line of least resistance. Hence we need someone to challenge us, who has our best interest at heart and who will not let us settle for anything less than the best we are capable of being. And that is what the fishermen discovered and the call was too strong to ignore.

Realistically we know that this new way of living and understanding God cannot be achieved quickly and painlessly, otherwise, everyone would opt to do it. Rather it involves a journey and a struggle, which is a necessary facet of the Christian life. A life that is always a continuous process of conversion.
+++++
References:
Homily by Fr peter Dillon

Prologue - Fr Paul W. Kelly

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image: ID:72512117. SAN GIMIGNANO, ITALY - JULY 11, 2017: Fresco depicting Jesus calling of Saint Peter and Andrew, in the Collegiata of San Gimignano, Italy. By jorisvo


Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B  (Sunday, January 24, 2021)  (EPISODE: 274)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
+++++++++++++
{{Good wishes to you all.}} welcome everyone, we gather -  Silence, reflection, prayer and contemplation of our God. 


Coming together as brothers and sisters in Christ, let us prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries by recalling our sins and remembering Christ's greater mercy. 
I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault,* through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PREFACE: Sundays II
Various Occasions 2
Communion side.  pwk:  LH
(theme variation: 1 )
(pre+post variation: 4)
++++
{heartfelt thanks to you all, for uniting in prayer and for reflection, upon God's overflowing goodness and care.}

Go forth, the Mass is ended.

++++++++
Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria,  Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of  William John Kelly -     Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

[ Production -  KER -  2021]

May God bless and keep you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++