We spent the entire season of Advent to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus, born of Mary the Blessed Virgin and the Immaculate Conception. We rejoiced over theophanies of the incarnated Christ during Christmastide, from his Nativity to Baptism.
When he was about 30, the incarnated Christ, finally
made a public theophany, as Jesus of Nazareth, at where John the Baptist was
preparing the Israelites for this, to begin his ministry (Matthew 3:13-17//Mark
1:9-11//Luke 3:21-23a).
John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the Christ,
calling him, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29-36). Then, two of his disciples began to follow
Christ (John 1:37-39). One of these two former disciples of John the Baptist
was Andrew, and he brought his brother, Simon, to Christ (John 1:40-42). This
is reflected in the Gospel Reading of the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (John 1:35-42),
Cycle B.
On the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle B, the
Gospel Reading (Mark 1:14-20) describes what follows Jesus’ meeting with Andrew
and Simon (John 1:40-42), and it also describes how Jesus, the incarnated
Christ in theophany, officially inaugurated his public ministry.
When Jesus met Andrew and Simon, it was when John the
Baptist was still around, as we recall from the Gospel Reading of the Second
Sunday in Ordinary Time (John 1:35-42), Cycle B. Then, John the Baptist was arrested by Herod
Antipas (Mark 1:14a; cf. Matthew 14:3-4), and it was when Jesus began
proclaiming the Gospel of God (Mark 1:14b; cf. Matthew 4:12-17) with these
words:
This is the time of fulfillment. The
kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel
(Mark 1:15).
With the inauguration of
Jesus’ public ministry, all the prophecies about the Christ (Messiah) begins to
be fulfilled. This also marks the period of the old covenant giving its way to
the period of the new covenant, which is brought through his blood (Matthew
26:28), and John the Baptist is the last prophet under the old covenant (i.e.
Matthew 11:11). And the Kingdom of God being at hand also means the imminence of
the new covenant, as both of these are brought by Jesus, the incarnated Christ,
in theophany. In order to be entitled to the Kingdom of God under the new
covenant, we must repent first, then, believe in the Gospel proclaimed by him.
According to Matthew, John the Baptist was also calling to repent and reminding
people of the Kingdom being at hand (Matthew 3:2) as he was preparing them for
Jesus’ public appearance, the incarnated Christ’s public theophany.
We are called to repent,
first by John the Baptist, then, by Jesus, the incarnated Christ, as he begins
his public ministry in Galilee. Repentance is an absolutely necessary condition
to believe in the Gospel that he preaches and to follow him.
What does Jesus mean by “repent”?
Repentance in order to
believe in the Gospel and to be entitled to the Kingdom takes more than remorse
and stopping sinful behaviors. As the Greek word for “repent” in the original
text, μετανοεῖτε (metanoeite), indicates, it means making a total
conversion, as “meta” means “beyond”, and “noieo” means “mind”.
In other words, repentance requires transcending our minds.
Ever since Adam and Eve
committed the Original Sin, our minds have been plagued with ego consciousness
and egocentrism, as shame led them hide their respective genital areas with fig
leaves and as they began blaming each other in order to defend themselves (i.e.
Genesis 3:7-13). Therefore, repentance is a way that we strive to overcome this
inherent problem of the human mind, by going beyond the mind. And we are humbly
reminded of a gap between God’s way and our way, because God’s mind is perfect
but ours are not (Isaiah 55:8-9). This is why “metanoeite” is of
absolute necessity, especially going beyond the sphere of our egocentric
disposition.
In this sense, repentance
as “metanoieite”, can be understood in juxtaposition to Buddhism’s teaching
of “anatman” or “anatta”, attaining the egoless state for nirvana,
which means freedom from samsara, the vicious cycle of suffering due to
ego-driven passions. As Buddhists strive
to overcome atman or atta (egocentric self) for nirvana,
Christians, who heed the teaching of Jesus, the incarnated Christ, strive to
transcend our egocentric mind, which we have inherited from Adam and Eve, by
way of “metanoieite”, which is translated as “repent”, in order to believe
in the Gospel and to be entitled to the Kingdom of God. And this is also our
way to narrow the gap between God’s way and our way.
Upon his initial
preaching on repentance and accepting his Gospel, Jesus passes by the Sea of
Galilee and, once again, met Simon and his brother, Andrew, when these
fisherman brothers are casting the nets into the sea (Mark 1:16). This time, it
was Jesus, who is coming to them, though it was Andrew who followed him and
brought his brother, Simon, to him, when John the Baptist was still around in
Judah. And Jesus calls Simon and Andrew:
Come after me, and I will
make you fishers of men (Mark 1:17).
And they left their fishing nets and followed Jesus immediately (Mark 1:18).
Because Simon and Andrew
already met with him (John 1:40-42), Jesus was not a stranger to these Galilean
fisherman brothers. Nevertheless, abandoning their means to make living, their
fishing business, to follow Jesus was not easy at all. They could have wondered
“what if” and become anxious, though, at least, Andrew had recognized him as the
Messiah (Christ)(John 1:41). In order to drop their way of making living and
immediately follow Jesus, they must have had trusted Jesus, as Mary had trusted
God to accept her surprised virgin pregnancy with the Son of God as His
handmaid (Luke 1:26-38). Also, the fact that these fisherman brothers, Simon
and Andrew, followed Jesus means that they had accepted Jesus’ call on them to
serve as fishers of men. By following him, they learned how to “fish men and
women”. And they officially began serving as Jesus’ fishers of men, along with
other Apostles, upon Pentecost, later, joined by Paul, as described in the Acts
of the Apostles.
This time, Simon and
Andrew, together with James and John, followed Jesus to learn how to “fish men
and women” as his disciples, though Andrew followed Jesus to get to know Jesus,
because John the Baptist confirmed that he was the Christ, who takes away the
sin of the world and the one whose coming he had been preparing for.
For the rest of this
liturgical year, we will see how Simon and Adrew, together with other
disciples, would learn and grow as the “fishers of men and women”, as they
followed Jesus and until they receive the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. We will
also see how they would serve as the “fishers of men and women” from our
readings from the Acts of the Apostoles, especially for the First Readings
during Paschaltide.
Two themes from the
Gospel Reading (Mark 1:15-20), repentance and being called are reflected in the
First Reading (Jonah 3:1-5, 10). He was called by God to call the people of
Nineveh, the capitol of Assyria, which was, at that time, Israel’s archenemy,
to repent. (Jonah 1:1-3). Jonah’s such a response to God’s call brought a great
trouble not only to him but people around him, resulting in Jonah being thrown
into the stormy sea (Johan 1:4-16). Realizing that his disobedience to God’s
call on him was causing a great disaster to those who were on the boat with him,
Jonah seemed to desire to be dead, hoping that the disaster will end with his
self-sacrifice ( Jonah 1:12).
Though Jonah was cast
into the sea to die for the sake of stopping the disaster, merciful God
provided a great fish to “rescue” him, to let him repent and to give him
another chance to accept His call on him (Johan 2:1). And, Jonah repented and
repositioned himself with God while he was in the fish’s belly for three days
and nights (Jonah 3:1-10). Then, God let the fish to spew him out (Jonah 2:11).
This time, Jonah accepted
God’s call to embark on a mission that seemed impossible – to let the pagan
Ninevites to repent within 40 days to avert God’s wrath, and successfully
accomplished this mission (Jonah 3:1-10). As he became obedient to God’s call,
Johan turned out to be an extraordinary influential prophet in Nineveh, for
making the entire pagan city repent, prompting its king to mobilize everyone in
his power to repent. Thus, Nineveh was saved (Jonah 3:10). However, we can
question now if Johan really repented while he was in the fish’s belly because
he became angry at the fact that God spared Israel’s archenemy (Jonah 4:1-11).
Why did Jonah need to be
angry to see God not destroying the capital city of Israel’s archenemy,
Assyria?
God was merciful to save
him, though Jonah rebelled against God’s call on him, because he prayed as if
he had repented. God withheld His intention to destroy abominable Nineveh
because its people stopped evil acts, as a result of Jonah’s call for
repentance. Why did Jonah fail to rejoice that God was able to show His mercy
even to Israel’s archenemy, for stopping evil, and he was instrumental to this
change of the Ninevites? It was because Jonah did not fully engage in “metanoieite”.
Therefore, Jonah did not go beyond the sphere of his egocentric mind when he
prayed in the fish’s belly for three days and nights. He, once again, fell
subject to his mind’s inherent egocentric forces. This is why he became angry.
Yes, Jonah actually
served as he was called, when he was given another chance. But, deep within his
mind, because he did not fully transcend his ego, he was still pretty much the same
old Jonah.
The Second Reading (1 Corinthians
7:29-31) emphasis on acting out of a sense of imminency – with the mindset of “now
or never”. This echoes these words of
Jesus, “This is the time of fulfillment”(Mark 1:15a). Jesus is saying, “Now
is the time of fulfillment, let us not waste any moment! Live a life of faith
fully and engage in your mission, as you are called, fully. Do not let worldly
concerns compromise us from living and engaging in our mission, as we are
called.”
Remember, Simon, Andrew,
James, and John, embraced Jesus’ call to follow fully. They did not let worldly
affair, such as their fishing business, compromise the fullness in following
Jesus and learning to become the “fishers of men and women”.
From the readings of the
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, on Cycle B, there are two major themes of
importance to reflect and practice: repentance as going beyond the sphere of the
egocentric forces of human mind, and responding to God’s or Christ’s call for
service fully, without any compromise.
Now, are you ready to
speak against what St. John Paul II has called “the culture of death”, and call
for repentance to those who do not respect life, especially, of those who are
vulnerable, if God call you now to do so? It may subject you to persecution by
so-called “prochoice” brothers and sisters in the world, as well as, the enemies
of the vulnerable lives, such as abortionists and abortion advocates. This
year, 2024, the day after the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is the “Day of
Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children” in the USCCB jurisdiction,
as it is anniversary of Roe v. Wade (January 22).
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