3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026
Isaiah 8:23-9:3 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 7 Matthew 4:12-23
For the last couple of Sundays John the Baptist has featured as a main character in our Gospel stories. Today’s Gospel brings a close to the ministry of John the Baptist. The one, who prepared the way for the Lord and introduced Him to those gathered at the river Jordan, has been arrested and imprisoned.
The prophecy of Isaiah had been fulfilled, although they did not realise it, “the people that walked in darkness” had “seen a great light”. Without any delay in the narrative, Jesus went back to Galilee, to Capernaum. The fulfilment of the prophecy must not be delayed. We are further impressed by the urgency with which Jesus began his preaching. There is an urgency – ‘The kingdom of heaven is close at hand’!
Essential to the establishment of that Kingdom on earth would be the co-workers of the Lord. So, the first action of the Lord in his ministry is to call Disciples. It seems that the selection of these disciples was very random, even without much care or consideration. But what is very striking again is the sense of urgency in their response – ‘they left their nets at once!’ Perhaps the next group to be called had a little more time for discernment but they too responded without hesitation – ‘At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him’.
Are we not still baffled by the choices that Jesus made when calling his disciples? Would it not have been better to find more prominent members of society, people with social and enterprising skills, who would plan and promote the kingdom of Heaven on earth?
I think that the Lord was planning ahead. Jesus had you and me in mind, when considering what would encourage people who were called. Would we be able to identify with ‘important people’, celebrities, stars, heroes? Wouldn’t it be easier to model ourselves on ordinary folk who had similar life experiences as we have?
And, yes, we have been called. The Scripture readings today are for us today, here in our own space and surroundings. Capernaum was a small village where ordinary people lived ordinary lives. While the complexities of modern living have taken over the world there is still simplicity, purity and contentment to be found where we are now. There is also an urgency to proclaim the Good News.
We have just celebrated the coming of the Light into our world in the person and presence of the New-born King. Let us cling to the remembrance and the belief that, that presence endures. Let us think too of the simplicity and contentment that we know some of our great forebears have had. So many of our revered Saints were noted for their simplicity and utter trust in the Lord’s call to them. They were not celebrities or stars yet they were called and they responded to the grace of the ‘Light that has dawned’.
Consider the lives and the calls of Saint Francis or Saint Clare, of Pope John XXlll or Mother Teresa, of Saint Therese or Saint Carlo Acutis. Imagine how they heard the call and imagine how they responded. Ordinary people whom the Lord called!
We, who have walked in a valley of darkness, have seen a great light. ‘The Lord is our light and our Help’