Trust in God’s Promises and Committing to Discipleship
(Isaiah 8:23-9:3; Psalm 27:1, 4, 13, 14; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23)
Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Letter titled Aperuit Illis, officially established the Feast of the Word of God on September 30, 2019. In this letter, he proclaimed: “I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the word of God.” The title of the letter is derived from the Latin phrase aperuit illis, meaning "opened to them," which refers to the moment when Jesus, following His Resurrection, opened the minds of His disciples so that they could fully understand the Scriptures (as recorded in Luke 24:45). Pope Francis emphasized that the annual observance of a day dedicated to the Bible should not be a fleeting event limited to one day a year, but rather an ongoing commitment that permeates the entire year. He encouraged both clergy and laypeople to seek a deeper understanding of Sacred Scripture, as it is central to the Christian faith.
From the very beginning, when humanity fell from grace in the Garden of Eden, God had set forth a divine plan to rescue His creation from sin and death. Throughout the tumultuous arcs of history, there were moments when the covenant people felt as though God had abandoned them and forgotten His promises of restoration and salvation. Yet, it is crucial to note that God has steadfastly remained with His people; He has not forgotten His word or His covenant.
In the First Reading, we find the prophet Isaiah, who was divinely called to deliver a warning to the people of Israel about the impending divine retribution that would result from their numerous sins. Despite the sternness of His prophecy, God softened the message with a promise of future restoration, a hope that would blossom in the tribal areas of Zebulun and Naphtali in Galilee. This region had endured the brunt of Assyrian conquest and exile, a fate that befell its inhabitants several decades after Isaiah’s prophetic mission commenced in the 8th century BC.
The Responsorial Psalm captures a profound moment of joy and faith, expressed by the psalmist as he visits Yahweh’s Temple in Jerusalem. In his proclamation, he expresses his elation in the presence of the Lord, firmly believing that God serves as his guiding light on the pathway to salvation. The psalmist reassures himself that with the Lord as his refuge, he holds no fears. His unwavering confidence in God’s ability to save him from spiritual death leads him to envision a future where he would ultimately encounter the Lord within the “land of the living,” a metaphor for the heavenly Temple.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul engages with a letter that he received from Chloe’s household, a Christian community based in Corinth, Greece. Chloe was likely a Christian widow who provided her home as a gathering space for this New Covenant community, where worship, prayer, and the Eucharist took place. The letter conveyed concerns regarding divisions that threatened to undermine community unity. In his response, Paul reminded the Christians in Corinth that their connection to one another was not determined by their membership in the same congregation or allegiance to individual leaders who had baptised them. Instead, their bond was forged through the sacrifice of Christ, who died for their sins. Through baptism, they experienced spiritual rebirth, infused with the very life of Jesus Christ, and were thus unified in the Church, referred to as the “Body of Christ.”
In the Gospel Reading, St. Matthew connects Isaiah’s vision of restoration to the ministry of Jesus the Messiah, presenting it as a fulfilment of prophecy. Jesus initiated the realisation of Isaiah’s message, commencing His mission of spiritual restoration among the covenant people in Galilee, the region that marked the beginning of Israel’s division and the exile of its people centuries prior. In Galilee, Jesus not only gathered His first disciples but also emerged as a “light” to the people, as foretold by Isaiah and celebrated by the psalmist in Psalm 27. Furthermore, St. Paul’s words serve as a reminder to the Corinthians that Jesus extends His call to all people, both Jews and Gentiles, urging them toward a shared mission, an undivided unity of purpose within the Kingdom of the Church, dedicated to the dissemination of the Gospel of salvation.
After the momentous event of St. John the Baptist baptising Jesus in the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus remained in the regions of Judea and Perea. His stay continued until the oppressive ruler Herod Antipas ordered the arrest and imprisonment of St. John. This action signified not only the culmination of John’s prophetic ministry but also heralded the commencement of Jesus’s own divine mission on Earth.
Following this pivotal announcement, Jesus returned to His childhood home in Nazareth, in Galilee. However, when He encountered rejection from the townspeople (Luke 4:16-30), He made the significant decision to leave Nazareth. He relocated to Capernaum, a bustling town situated on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, approximately 23 miles from Nazareth. Capernaum was not just any town; it was a key port for the fishing industry, making it a vibrant hub of commerce and trade. One important reason for Jesus's move to Capernaum was its strategic location near the Via Maris, a major trade route connecting Egypt to regions extending into Syria, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia. This route, referred to as the “seaward road” in Isaiah 8:23, enabled Jesus to reach a broader audience without extensive travel. People flocked to Him as they traversed this vital thoroughfare.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, particularly in chapters 4:14-16, the author uses a “fulfilment formula” that echoes Old Testament prophetic statements. In this instance, Matthew quotes Isaiah 8:23-9:1, illustrating that Jesus exemplifies the “light” that emerged from the waters of the Jordan. His baptism marked the onset of His mission to bring renewal and restoration to His people, particularly in Galilee, a region historically marred by the Assyrian invasion in the 8th century BC, which had devastated Israel. Jesus embodies the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophetic visions: He is identified as the child born of the Davidic lineage, as foretold by Isaiah. Titles assigned to Him, “Wonder-Counsellor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace”, speak to His divine authority and eternal nature. He is indeed the “God with us” or “Emmanuel,” a title prophesied in Isaiah 7:14.
It is notable that Isaiah’s prophecy characterises Galilee as the “land of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 8:23; Matthew 4:15). The presence of Gentiles in this territory did not begin until the Assyrian invasion, which dismantled the Israelite population during the 8th century BC. While significant numbers of Gentiles were not recorded until the 2nd century BC, Jesus's mission focused on restoring and renewing Israel, with the intent of drawing back the “lost sheep” (as referenced in Ezekiel 34:11-16 and Matthew 15:24). Those who would become part of the renewed Israel, established through the New Covenant, were tasked with spreading the Gospel message of salvation to the Gentiles. Thus, Jesus's ministry in diverse Galilee foreshadows the broader mission of the Church to extend the Gospel invitation to all nations, as outlined in Matthew 10:6, 15:24, and 28:19.
In verse 17 of Matthew 4, we witness the formal inauguration of Jesus’s ministry. His message echoed the urgent call of St. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1). The phrase “from that time on Jesus began,” found in both 4:17 and 16:21, serves as a structural marker, dividing Matthew’s Gospel into three distinct sections. Specifically, 4:17 signals the dawn of Jesus’s earthly ministry along with the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
The transformation of these four fishermen from professionals who catch fish to “fishers of men” (as Jesus proclaimed in 4:19) may resonate with the prophetic writings of the 6th-century BC prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah foretold a future time when the Lord would gather His people once more, stating, “As the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of the north and out of all the countries to which he had banished them. I will bring them back to the land which I gave their fathers. Look, I will send many fishermen, says the LORD, to catch them” (Jeremiah 16:14-16).
As was customary with the prophets before Him, Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons, as noted in Matthew 4:23. These healing miracles served as tangible proof of the authority bestowed upon Jesus by God and fulfilled the prophetic promises made by earlier prophets like Isaiah in passages such as Isaiah 26:19a, 35:4b-6, 53:4, and 61:1-2.
In our current era, the call of Jesus to discipleship remains as powerful and relevant as ever. He continues to invite individuals to embrace the mission of the Gospel of Salvation, urging His followers to share His profound message of hope and love with the world, extending to the very “ends of the earth” as referenced in Matthew 28:19. This calling challenges us to reflect on our own lives and priorities.
Consider the examples set by Simon-Peter, Andrew, and James and John Zebedee, who, upon hearing Jesus' invitation, made the bold decision to leave behind their families, jobs, and familiar comforts to follow Him. Today, we must ask ourselves if we would be prepared to make a similar leap of faith if Jesus were to call us to sacrifice our own worldly attachments for the sake of His Kingdom.
While it is true that Jesus does not require every Christian to forsake their lives in the same manner as the first disciples, He does expect us to cultivate a heart that prioritises our love and obedience to Him above all earthly concerns and distractions. This willingness manifests in our daily choices, shaping how we live out our faith and engage with others. As we navigate our responsibilities and commitments, we are invited to keep our focus on what truly matters and to be open to His leading in our lives.
From the very beginning, when humanity fell from grace in the Garden of Eden, God had set forth a divine plan to rescue His creation from sin and death. Throughout the tumultuous arcs of history, there were moments when the covenant people felt as though God had abandoned them and forgotten His promises of restoration and salvation. Yet, it is crucial to note that God has steadfastly remained with His people; He has not forgotten His word or His covenant.
In the First Reading, we find the prophet Isaiah, who was divinely called to deliver a warning to the people of Israel about the impending divine retribution that would result from their numerous sins. Despite the sternness of His prophecy, God softened the message with a promise of future restoration, a hope that would blossom in the tribal areas of Zebulun and Naphtali in Galilee. This region had endured the brunt of Assyrian conquest and exile, a fate that befell its inhabitants several decades after Isaiah’s prophetic mission commenced in the 8th century BC.
The Responsorial Psalm captures a profound moment of joy and faith, expressed by the psalmist as he visits Yahweh’s Temple in Jerusalem. In his proclamation, he expresses his elation in the presence of the Lord, firmly believing that God serves as his guiding light on the pathway to salvation. The psalmist reassures himself that with the Lord as his refuge, he holds no fears. His unwavering confidence in God’s ability to save him from spiritual death leads him to envision a future where he would ultimately encounter the Lord within the “land of the living,” a metaphor for the heavenly Temple.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul engages with a letter that he received from Chloe’s household, a Christian community based in Corinth, Greece. Chloe was likely a Christian widow who provided her home as a gathering space for this New Covenant community, where worship, prayer, and the Eucharist took place. The letter conveyed concerns regarding divisions that threatened to undermine community unity. In his response, Paul reminded the Christians in Corinth that their connection to one another was not determined by their membership in the same congregation or allegiance to individual leaders who had baptised them. Instead, their bond was forged through the sacrifice of Christ, who died for their sins. Through baptism, they experienced spiritual rebirth, infused with the very life of Jesus Christ, and were thus unified in the Church, referred to as the “Body of Christ.”
In the Gospel Reading, St. Matthew connects Isaiah’s vision of restoration to the ministry of Jesus the Messiah, presenting it as a fulfilment of prophecy. Jesus initiated the realisation of Isaiah’s message, commencing His mission of spiritual restoration among the covenant people in Galilee, the region that marked the beginning of Israel’s division and the exile of its people centuries prior. In Galilee, Jesus not only gathered His first disciples but also emerged as a “light” to the people, as foretold by Isaiah and celebrated by the psalmist in Psalm 27. Furthermore, St. Paul’s words serve as a reminder to the Corinthians that Jesus extends His call to all people, both Jews and Gentiles, urging them toward a shared mission, an undivided unity of purpose within the Kingdom of the Church, dedicated to the dissemination of the Gospel of salvation.
After the momentous event of St. John the Baptist baptising Jesus in the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus remained in the regions of Judea and Perea. His stay continued until the oppressive ruler Herod Antipas ordered the arrest and imprisonment of St. John. This action signified not only the culmination of John’s prophetic ministry but also heralded the commencement of Jesus’s own divine mission on Earth.
Following this pivotal announcement, Jesus returned to His childhood home in Nazareth, in Galilee. However, when He encountered rejection from the townspeople (Luke 4:16-30), He made the significant decision to leave Nazareth. He relocated to Capernaum, a bustling town situated on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, approximately 23 miles from Nazareth. Capernaum was not just any town; it was a key port for the fishing industry, making it a vibrant hub of commerce and trade. One important reason for Jesus's move to Capernaum was its strategic location near the Via Maris, a major trade route connecting Egypt to regions extending into Syria, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia. This route, referred to as the “seaward road” in Isaiah 8:23, enabled Jesus to reach a broader audience without extensive travel. People flocked to Him as they traversed this vital thoroughfare.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, particularly in chapters 4:14-16, the author uses a “fulfilment formula” that echoes Old Testament prophetic statements. In this instance, Matthew quotes Isaiah 8:23-9:1, illustrating that Jesus exemplifies the “light” that emerged from the waters of the Jordan. His baptism marked the onset of His mission to bring renewal and restoration to His people, particularly in Galilee, a region historically marred by the Assyrian invasion in the 8th century BC, which had devastated Israel. Jesus embodies the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophetic visions: He is identified as the child born of the Davidic lineage, as foretold by Isaiah. Titles assigned to Him, “Wonder-Counsellor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace”, speak to His divine authority and eternal nature. He is indeed the “God with us” or “Emmanuel,” a title prophesied in Isaiah 7:14.
It is notable that Isaiah’s prophecy characterises Galilee as the “land of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 8:23; Matthew 4:15). The presence of Gentiles in this territory did not begin until the Assyrian invasion, which dismantled the Israelite population during the 8th century BC. While significant numbers of Gentiles were not recorded until the 2nd century BC, Jesus's mission focused on restoring and renewing Israel, with the intent of drawing back the “lost sheep” (as referenced in Ezekiel 34:11-16 and Matthew 15:24). Those who would become part of the renewed Israel, established through the New Covenant, were tasked with spreading the Gospel message of salvation to the Gentiles. Thus, Jesus's ministry in diverse Galilee foreshadows the broader mission of the Church to extend the Gospel invitation to all nations, as outlined in Matthew 10:6, 15:24, and 28:19.
In verse 17 of Matthew 4, we witness the formal inauguration of Jesus’s ministry. His message echoed the urgent call of St. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1). The phrase “from that time on Jesus began,” found in both 4:17 and 16:21, serves as a structural marker, dividing Matthew’s Gospel into three distinct sections. Specifically, 4:17 signals the dawn of Jesus’s earthly ministry along with the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
- Section I - Matthew 1:1-4:16, centers on establishing the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.
- Section II - Matthew 4:17 to 16:20, describes the onset and progress of Jesus’s ministry and teachings.
- Section III - Matthew 16:21 to 28:20, recounts the key events of Jesus Christ’s Passion and Resurrection.
In the subsequent verses of Matthew 4:18-22, we find Jesus inviting His first disciples to join Him. Their initial encounter with Jesus occurred after His baptism by John, when they were still on the eastern banks of the Jordan River. St. John had just identified Jesus as the Messiah, declaring Him to be “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Following this revelation, these four men spent time conversing with Jesus. When Jesus later approached them along the shores of Galilee, they were already influenced by John’s testimony and had personally witnessed Jesus’s miraculous powers during a remarkable catch of fish. This miraculous event confirmed in their hearts Jesus’s true identity (as elaborated in John 1:25-42 and Luke 5:1-11). Thus, when Jesus called them to follow Him, they responded with remarkable commitment, leaving behind their livelihoods to embrace their new calling.The transformation of these four fishermen from professionals who catch fish to “fishers of men” (as Jesus proclaimed in 4:19) may resonate with the prophetic writings of the 6th-century BC prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah foretold a future time when the Lord would gather His people once more, stating, “As the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of the north and out of all the countries to which he had banished them. I will bring them back to the land which I gave their fathers. Look, I will send many fishermen, says the LORD, to catch them” (Jeremiah 16:14-16).
As was customary with the prophets before Him, Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons, as noted in Matthew 4:23. These healing miracles served as tangible proof of the authority bestowed upon Jesus by God and fulfilled the prophetic promises made by earlier prophets like Isaiah in passages such as Isaiah 26:19a, 35:4b-6, 53:4, and 61:1-2.
In our current era, the call of Jesus to discipleship remains as powerful and relevant as ever. He continues to invite individuals to embrace the mission of the Gospel of Salvation, urging His followers to share His profound message of hope and love with the world, extending to the very “ends of the earth” as referenced in Matthew 28:19. This calling challenges us to reflect on our own lives and priorities.
Consider the examples set by Simon-Peter, Andrew, and James and John Zebedee, who, upon hearing Jesus' invitation, made the bold decision to leave behind their families, jobs, and familiar comforts to follow Him. Today, we must ask ourselves if we would be prepared to make a similar leap of faith if Jesus were to call us to sacrifice our own worldly attachments for the sake of His Kingdom.
While it is true that Jesus does not require every Christian to forsake their lives in the same manner as the first disciples, He does expect us to cultivate a heart that prioritises our love and obedience to Him above all earthly concerns and distractions. This willingness manifests in our daily choices, shaping how we live out our faith and engage with others. As we navigate our responsibilities and commitments, we are invited to keep our focus on what truly matters and to be open to His leading in our lives.
Dr Nicholas Macedon, OCD,
Jeeva Jyothi Carmelite Institute of Spirituality (JJCIS),
Old Gandarvakottai,
Pudukottai - 613301.
Tamil Nadu, India
What's app - +91 - 9698453101
Very nice and good reflection dear father.
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