The Calling of St Peter and St Andrew, Jacob Willemsz de Wet the Elder
Readings (New American Bibles used in the Philippines)
Gospel (Mt 4:12-23)
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
or
(Mt 4:12-17)
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
+++
The readings today draw us back to Christmas and forward to Lent. The text from Isaiah that Matthew quotes contains part of the first reading at the Midnight Mass for Christmas. The same reading was used here in the Philippines last Sunday for the feast of the Santo Niño (Holy Child). The words of Isaiah are followed by those of Jesus that point us towards Lent, just over six weeks away.
The call of the first disciples may be omitted. It would seem a pity to do so even though it’s not overtly connected with what precedes it. But Jesus before he returned to his Father he gave us our mission: Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." The call of Peter, Andrew, James and John points us towards that.
Often enough we restrict the word ‘vocation’ to that of the priest or religious. Each one of us has a specific vocation from God, included in the basic call to be a saint. I spent some years as a vocation director here in the Philippines and sometimes listened to religious or priests speak to young people about the vocation of marriage and almost forgetting to speak about their own. That’s going to the other extreme.
Sr Marie Paul Therese OCD
However, the vocation stories in the gospels always bring me to thank God for my own vocation to be a Columban missionary priest. The call of each of us involves a unique story. One such ‘love story’, as she calls it, expressing the heart of the reality of a vocation, is that of Sr Marie Paul Therese OCD of the Carmel in Vilvoorde, Belgium, the oldest Carmelite monastery in the world. Part of her story was reading an article in Misyon, the Columban magazine I have been editing here in the Philippines since the feast of St Thérèse of Lisiuex, patron of missionaries, 1 October 2002. An article by a Filipina Carmelite nun in Vilvoorde, Sr Mary Carmela OCD, in Misyon, when it was still a printed magazine, led Sr Marie Paul Therese from Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, where the Columbans worked for many years, to Belgium, with the help of the email address we included. You can read From Iligan to Vilvoorde in the current issue of Misyon. +++
IN JESUS OF NAZARETH, ISAIAH'S LIGHT DAWNED ON HUMANITY
Biblical Reflection for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time A
By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB
TORONTO, JAN. 18, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Both today's first reading from the Prophet Isaiah (Is 8:23-9:3) and the Gospel passage (Matthew 4:12-23) keep alive the memory of Christmas for us. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness– on them a light has shined."
The choral section from the Nativity cycle of Handel's Messiah never ceases to move me each time I listen to Isaiah's prophecy set to hauntingly beautiful music. The words reach their crescendo in the announcement of the birth of a child who will be called: "Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). Isaiah's prophecy forms the first reading that we hear proclaimed each year at the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
Full text here.