GOD’S WORD

Monday - January 14, 2013 1st Week in Ordinary Time

Psalter: Week 1 Ps 97:1 and 2b, 6 and 7c, 9 Let all his angels worship him. 1st Reading: Heb 1:1–6

God has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times he has spoken definitively to us through his Son.

He is the one God appointed heir of all things, since through him he unfolded the stages of the world.

He is the radiance of God’s Glory and bears the stamp of God’s hidden being, so that his powerful word upholds the universe. And after taking away sin, he took his place at the right hand of the divine Majesty in heaven.

So he is now far superior to angels just as the name he received sets him apart from them. To what angel did God say: You are my son, I have begotten you today? and to what angel did he promise: I shall be a father to him and he will be a son to me? On sending his Firstborn to the world, God says: Let all the angels adore him. Gospel: Mk 1:14–20

After John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee and began preaching the Good News of God. He said, “The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News.”

As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” At once, they left their nets and followed him. Jesus went a little farther on and saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee; they were in their boat mending their nets. Immediately, Jesus called them and they followed him, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men. Reflection:

I wonder what went through the mind of Zebedee when his sons just dropped the nets and followed a mendicant preacher. Could he make sense of the seemingly senseless action by his sons? Did he worry what he would tell their mother? And how would he go on with the family profession of fishing without the help of his boys? I hope he gradually made his peace with their choice trusting them into the ever trustworthy hands of God.

Are we willing to let God claim our dear ones for His purposes?To encourage our children/siblings to listen to God’s call? But more significantly, am I willing to drop my net and follow Christ when he comes calling? Like Simon and Andrew, I may not know the consequent twists and turns my life will take; but one thing is definite: I will be with him and he will be with me, and we will be working together. What more can one ask for in life?