January 22, 2012 – Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jon 3:1-5, 10; Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20
Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee and called the first disciples, inviting them, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.”
In much the same way, Christ calls each of us to follow Him and to use the time, talents, and treasure He has given us to build the Kingdom.
St. Paul reminds us, “the world in its present form is passing away.” So, we ought not to get caught up in the things of this world. We ought to live in this world but not of it, proclaiming the goodness of God and the glory of His Kingdom.
Each one of us has been given particular gifts of time, talent, and treasure, and it is up to us to recognize those gifts and to share them lovingly in such a way that God will be glorified and we will call others to come to know him. In all we say and do, we must honor Him. He must be more important to us than anything else – more important than our careers, more important than our hobbies, even more important than our families. The disciples in today’s gospel show us just how unreserved our response to God must be. They left their nets – their careers as fishermen – and left their father, to serve the Lord.
For most of us, the call to discipleship will not require us to leave behind family and friends and even our secular career. But for all of us, the call to be a disciple means God must be first and foremost in our lives, and we must offer Him the first fruits of our time, talents, and treasure as His faithful followers.
