The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 21, 2024

Mark 1, 14–20

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”  As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

St. Mark, eager to tell of the Lord’s miracles and signs of power, summarizes the events that passed in the life of Jesus from the time of his Baptism in the Jordan to the beginning of his preaching to a couple of verses: “And immediately the Spirit drove him out into the desert. And he was in the desert forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by Satan. And he was with beasts: and the angels ministered to him” (Mark 1, 12-13).  And with that, the words of today’s Gospel Reading immediately follow.  If we want to know more of what happened at that time we must turn to the opening pages of the Gospel according to St. John.  In John’s Gospel we learn that the Lord conducted a ministry like John the Baptist’s for some time: “After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea: and there he abode with them and baptized” ( John 3, 22).  And so he labored until John was arrested by Herod, at which point Jesus returned to Galilee to begin his teaching and miracles of healing.

“Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God.”  The English word “gospel” translates the Greek word euaggelion, Latinized as evangelium.  The Greek and the Latin words were technical terms for the announcement of good news about a king or emperor, or of a military victory.  Knowing this, we can read, “Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the news of the victory of God.”  The victory is that of God’s mercy overcoming man’s sin.  Jesus declares that “this is the time of fulfillment” (literally from the Greek: “the time has been completed”).  That is, this is the high point of human history, the coming amongst us of the Son of God.  All that had happened before led up to this time, just as all that has passed since his Ascension into heaven is leading up to his second coming — for judgment.   “The kingdom of God is at hand.”  Rather, the kingdom of God has drawn near (the literal meaning of the verb translated here incorrectly as “is at hand”).  “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” Repent, and believe in the news of God’s victory.  Sin hinders faith but it does not prohibit it altogether.  But to fully enjoy the fruits of God’s victory we must turn from sin and lead lives of virtue in imitation of the One who heralds this good news.  And not only heralds it, but brings it about.

“As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen.”  While the Lord carried out the ministry of baptizing, “though Jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples”, as John 4, 2 tells us, Simon and his brother Andrew probably helped him, and likely James and John as well.  We know that these were all followers of John the Baptist and came to know Jesus as the Messiah through him.  And when Jesus returned to Galilee, going to Capernaum and not Nazareth, these future Apostles went with him and once more took up their occupation as fishermen.  It is at this time that he calls them in a definitive way to follow him.  He calls them in order to share his ministry of announcing to the world the victory of God over sin and death, which he will accomplish.  We see in their eagerness to join him how greatly they desired to receive this task for his sake.

We should pray with zeal for the conversion of our fellow men and women that they may know of God’s victory and how they may share in its fruits of eternal life.