For the world to change, individuals must change…
Bulletin for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B: January 21, 2024
Let us leave our nets behind, convert ourselves, become Fishers of Men and prepare ourselves for the coming of the Kingdom of God.
This Sunday is the first day in a week celebrating the unity of Christians. And I see a perfect connection between the readings for this 3rd Sunday and the week where the Church asks us to pray for unity. How can we become “one” without changing our mentalities, without converting ourselves, without being witnesses for God, without thinking of the coming of the Kingdom of God?
The Lord said to Jonas and by extension to us:
“Get up… and deliver the message I have given you.”
Get up implies leaving something behind, changing our perspectives: it is an active verb.
Through Psalms 25, we implore God: “Teach me Your paths.” This requires casting aside a part of ourselves, abandoning our nets. But what are our nets? What must we leave behind to follow Jesus? Each person must answer that question invidually.
Saint Paul tells us: “The time is short.” He invites us not to attribute absolutes to the values and realities here on earth. We must live with our eyes fixed on the world to come; we must convert ourselves to the values of the Kingdom.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus invited four sinners to follow him. Today, he is looking at us. We are the ones being asked to set aside our nets, to observe Him, to live like Him and to carry His message throughout our world, even if it cost us our lives. The unity of Christians will only be realized if we become carriers of peace. Jesus has bestowed this mission upon us: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Faced with all the bad in the world, we always hope that people will “convert” and change their perspectives. Christ suggests we first start working on this change within ourselves: “For the world to change, individuals need to change… Convert yourselves.”
For our hearts to be connected to the will of God, we must cast aside our nets, change our mentalities and witness through prayer and through the desire for peace in light of the Kingdom.