Monday of the
First Week in ordinary Time
(I Samuel 1:1-8; Mark 1:14-20)
When St. John Paul II was elected pope, he said that the
celebration of the new millennium would be the hallmark of his papacy. He then methodically carried out a program
with synods in all parts of the world, apologies for the crimes of church
people throughout the centuries, and finally the great events of the year
2000. We see Jesus in the gospel today
working with as much deliberation.
Jesus has just been baptized in the Jordan and tested in
the desert. Now he begins his
ministry. He preaches his basic message:
salvation is at hand; accept it by opening your lives to the Lord. Then he calls
followers whom he will train to continue preaching the message. Three observations are in order. First, Jesus dispenses with the custom of the
time of disciples seeking out a teacher.
Jesus personally chooses his followers.
Second, Jesus chooses simple fishermen, not students for his
following. Scholars like Paul will preach
the gospel in time, but for now Jesus wants men who know how to seek out those who
are hidden. Finally, his call is
urgent. There is no time for followers to
discern a call. He demands that they
come at once.
Today we begin what the Church calls “Ordinary Time.” The phrase comes from the fact that the period
is categorized by weeks with ordinary numbers – first, second, third, etc. We hear the term as indicating nothing special. Perhaps that is a sufficient way of thinking
about it. Ordinary Time represents the
opportunity to open our lives to God’s love as Jesus preaches it in the gospel
today. But our response does not have to
be immediate. Rather we should make a deliberate
decision to follow him. But to follow
him means that we bring his message to others by manifesting God’s love
everywhere.
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