Gospel Reflection for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 21st. – Come, follow me…

This Sunday, we begin reading the Gospel of Mark. John the Baptist has been arrested and Jesus is beginning to proclaim the Good News from God.

Jesus is beginning his public ministry and so he starts to call people to follow him. Jesus always made a point of meeting and calling people wherever he found them. He met and called Matthew the tax collector when he was counting his money. He met and called the woman when she came to the well for water.

In the gospel this Sunday Jesus meets people while they doing their ordinary daily work of fishing and mending their nets on the sea shore. They weren’t on their knees praying in the temple or the synagogue. Jesus called these men by their own names, so he must have seen them before and known them. Today in the same way, Jesus continues to call us by our name. In the Old Testament, there are two beautiful pieces of scripture through which God says, I have called you by your name, you are mine and that I have written your name on the palms of my hands. This is how personally and intimately God knows and loves each of us.

Jesus calls us wherever we are, regardless of who are. Each of is called by Jesus. He breaks into our world through our ordinary daily lives and activities. Jesus has not stopped calling people to follow him. Today we are the ones he looks at, calls by name and says, ‘Come follow me.’ Those in the gospel dropped everything they were doing and followed Jesus when he called them. This was all very sudden and dramatic. Our response may not be as quick and decisive. But it doesn’t need to be. We all follow Jesus at our own pace, in our time and in our own way.

The important thing to remember and realise is that Jesus never stops calling us by our name. He is still inviting us to follow him with these words, if you want to be disciple, come, take up your cross and follow me.

After Jesus called these men and women to follow he sent them out in his name to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God. He sent them out in his name, not their own. Today we are the ones who are not only called, we are also sent out to proclaim the gospel through how we live; through what we say and what do.

This very day Jesus is calling you by your name, what is your response?

• Michael Moore OMI