THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME -  B – 2021 

Ø   We continue with the theme of the call.

Ø  In this third Sunday mission is added to the call, we are called for a concrete mission.

Ø  Our mission is to do as the Teacher does, to call to conversion, to a change in our life because God is among us, his kingdom is already here “CONVERT”.

Ø  In the second reading Paul says that the time is short, and he invites us to live without any temporary tie.

THE BOOK OF JONAH     

Ø  The book of Jonah is found among the prophetic books, although Jonah  is not a real prophet.

Ø  This book was written to counteract the nationalism of Ezra and Nehemiah, who promoted hate toward the foreigner, to everyone not belonging to the “holy and chosen” people.  

Ø  In the past this book was considered by some a historical one, while others thought it was an allegory. The idea of that book being historical has been discarded because it has some details difficult to reconcile with real life.   

Ø  Nowadays most of the commentators consider this book like a parable, a book belonging to the wisdom literature

Ø  The time of this story is after the return from the Babylonian exile, during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, between the V and II centuries BC. During the time in which the book of the Ecclesiasticus had been written.  

Ø  The message of this book is a reaction against the belief found and promoted in Israel that salvation was only for the chosen people. Also against the idea that God was a judging and vengeful God.  This is an offense against God who is love and compassion.  

Ø  The choosing of Nineveh is not without purpose; Nineveh was a sinful and cruel city, incarnation or representation of all that is bad, the city was ruled by cruel kings.  

Ø  The book of Jonah wants to offer us the following possibilities:  

o   The oppressor is able to change his life.  

o   To accept that God is merciful toward all, even toward their oppressors.    

o   The message is more difficult when we realize that Jonah is sent to Nineveh, not to have the city convert to the religion of Israel, but it is a call to conversion within their own religion. 

Ø  The book has two parts,  the two calls that God makes to Jonah: 

o   First call  cc,1-2 Jonah does not want to do what God asks him, he flees.

o   Second call  cc. 3-4 Jonah does what the Lord asks him to do.  

Ø  This book is a work of art of the Hebrew literature.   

FIRST READING  – Jonah  3: 1-5.10

v The Lord comes to Jonah a second time, Jonah has already learned that when the Lord calls we need to respond to him.   

v He receives a mission, something to do for a city, the city of Nineveh. 

v It is a sinful and corrupt city, and also quite large.  

v Jonah makes the decision to do what the Lord is asking.  

v And he proclaims the message as he has understood it, probably he has translated the word in his own way to understand God “if you sin you will be destroyed.”

v Jonah is completely sure that the people of Nineveh will not listen to the message, and will follow their own mistaken ways.  

v But the reality will surprise Jonah, all the inhabitants of Nineveh, rich and poor, powerful and humble old and young repent and do penance. 

v How often we are like Jonah when we think that persons and communities cannot change, and the Lord always surprises us allowing us to experience something different. 

v And the city is not destroyed as Jonah had announced.  

v The way the author of this book portrays God is very interesting: God sees, God repents, changes, and acts differently.  

v We are all witnesses in our own life of this behavior of God

v Maybe we do not have a theological explanation for this, but in many places of the Scriptures the authors describe God negotiating, changing, let us remember the conversation  of Abraham over the sinful cities, “and if only 10?... only 5?...”   

 

  RESPONSORIAL PSALM  : Sal 25:4-5. 6-7. 8-9 

TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O LORD

Your ways o Lord make known to me  

Teach me your paths 

Guide me in your truth and teach me  

For you are God my savior.

TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O LORD

Remember that you compassion O Lord  

And your love are from of old  

In your kindness remember me

Because of your goodness O Lord

TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O LORD

Good and upright is the Lord

Thus he shows sinners the way

He guides the humble to justice

And teaches the humble his way.

TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O LORD 

     Psalm 25 is a psalm of supplication and trust.  

     It has 3 parts:     

o   Invocation and petition     vv. 1-7

o   reflection   vv. 8-15

o   petition vv. 16-22

     This psalm has a concentric structure: the first part and the third one have the same themes and vocabulary. 

     In this Sunday’s liturgy the responsorial psalm is taken from the first and second parts.  

o   Petition to the Lord that he may have compassion and do not remember our sins. 

o   The last stanza tells us who God is and how God acts.   

GOSPEL  Mk 1:14-20

ü  Mark introduces to us the young Jesus in Galilee proclaiming the good news

ü  What is this good news? It is an invitation to change in order to improve our life because the kingdom of God, God himself in the person of Jesus is here. It is an invitation to CONVERSION

ü  Jesus continues inviting all of us,  as he did in Galilee,  in the person of Pope Francis who in Fratelli tutti invites us to make a new society, a new world. The example of citizen for this new world must be like the Samaritan of the parable told by Jesus who made himself neighbor of the man who had been robbed and wounded and left half dead on the road. It is a call to acknowledge and love each other as brothers and sister, sons and daughters of the same and only Father and Creator.   

ü  We find two interesting things in this passage:    

o   John is arrested and Jesus goes back to Galilee.  

o   Why? Because he is in danger, and his hour has not come yet?  

o   Or, maybe he is doing what he said, if they persecute you in one place, go to another, and continue proclaiming the good news?  

o   Whatever it might be, Jesus is now in Galilee.  

o   In the way Mark describes Jesus’ activity we perceive the urgency of the proclamation.   

ü  What does he proclaim?   

o   This is the time of fulfillment

o   The kingdom of God is at hand

o   Repent and believe in the Gospel

ü  What time is this? Will it be the time of the fulfillment of what Israel and in some way all the peoples had been waiting for such a long time: the coming of a Messiah, the redeemer someone sent by God to heal them?  

ü  What is this kingdom? Looking at how Jesus acts, we see that it is a kingdom in which God is compassionate, merciful, patient, who waits for, and wants the return of the lost. 

ü  Repent, convert? Change your ways,  instead of turning your back to God, walk toward him, look at your Father’s face, He is  always  waiting for you. 

ü  At the same time that he announces, he keeps calling, inviting other young men to follow him… I will make of you fishers of human beings.   

ü  These men, rough and used to difficult work, know how difficult the trade of fishing is, and Jesus is telling them that they will be fishers of human beings.   

ü  How would   Jesus look at them?    How would   his words be in order that they followed him  with such readiness?

ü  The Gospel gives us only a synthesis of the whole process of leaving everything behind and following Jesus. I am inclined to think that they had a conversation with their closest relatives, those that lived in the same house with them, and told them their decision.  

ü  They leave behind all that has been their life up to now, to begin the adventure of following that rabbi who has seduced them with his words, and with his look but most of all with his love.   From him they will learn how to love.

ü  Have we experienced in our life his look over us, his Word calling us in the depth of our being to cooperate in the mission received from him?  

SECOND READING  1Cor 7:29-31

« This is a difficult text for us to understand properly.  

« Is Paul saying that the realities of our present life do not have any value? … as not weeping, as not … 

« If the New Testament is the proclamation of salvation, of fulfillment, of joy, Paul cannot say to us that the other human beings are not important.  

« If I believe that the good things that I have come from God, how is it possible not to fully enjoy them? 

« What is Paul telling us? Maybe he is telling us that there is something which is absolute, rather someone who is absolute, and everything else is valuable in relation to him.    

« From his words we understand that he gives for granted that we weep, rejoice, buy, use the realities of this passing world, of the present time, but his advice is, always look at the Kingdom that will come after this temporal reality.  

« I believe that we will be able to enjoy what the Lord has prepared for us in heaven; in the measure we have been able to enjoy what he has given us in this present life.   

« Why? It is the same God who gives to us the present things and promises the future, those of the Kingdom.  

CLARETIAN CORNER

Fragment of a letter of Venerable María Antonia París to Saint Anthony Mary Claret in Cartas de los Orígenes (Letters from the Origins).

                                                                                                                    October 28  1860

On the 16^th (Most Rev. Caixal) arrived here with the Revs. Ramón Balaguer, José Mañanbet and the Canon Palau; we prepared the many things needed for the solemn ceremony and on the 18^th the Church (of Tremp) was consecrated. I assure Your Excellency that it was a ceremony worth seeing; after the consecration, the Most Holy Sacrament was brought to the temple with the participation of all the authorities and neighboring clergy; during the procession the priests carried lighted candles and the other men torches. The bishop carried his Divine Majesty under the pallium. Everything was made with great solemnity, and even though the Mass was not sung, the function lasted from seven in the morning to one in the afternoon. Let us give thanks to God for  one more church (temple)  and for being the first one consecrated to the honor of the Immaculate Conception.

You can see Father, how fast does Our Lord move in the formation of this  his work; many (young women) apply (to join the Order) but I take my time to admit them because I fear the multitudes. (Letter 198 ) 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cartas de los Origenes (Letters of the Origins) de las RR. de Ma. Inmaculada Misioneras Claretianas. Madrid 2009

PAGOLA, José Antonio sj. El Camino abierto por Jesús. (The Way Opened by Jesus) -2-  Marcos. Bilbao 2011

POPE FRANCIS,  Encyclical Fratelli tutti , 2020.

Sagrada Biblia, edición oficial de la Conferencia española de Obispos. 2010