Third Sunday of the Year (Year A)

Third Sunday of the Year January 22, 2023

Readings:  Isaiah 8:23-9:3, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17, Matthew 4:12-23

Sunday of the Word of God

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A man went to a barber shop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.  They talked about so many things and touched on the subject of God, the barber said:  “I don’t believe that God exists.”  “Why do you say that?” asked the customer. “Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist.   If God exists, would there be so many sick people?  Would there be abandoned children?  If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain.   I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.”   The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.    The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and said: “You know what?  Barbers do not exist.”  “How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber.  “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”  No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”  Ah, but barbers DO exist! That’s what happens when people do not come to me.”  “Exactly!” affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! That’s what happens when people do not go to Him and don’t look to Him for help.” 

Today’s gospel is on Jesus beginning his public work. After living a private life for more than thirty years, how did Jesus know exactly when to end the hidden life and begin his public work? Our first thoughts are to suppose that, of course, God his Father spoke to him and communicated to him exactly when to begin. He got a special green light from God. But today’s gospel suggests that Jesus probably arrived at this decision the way most people do, that is, by inferring from the things happening in their lives what God is trying to say to them.

The First Reading of today tells us that the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them great light have shined. Today’s Second Reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians gives an insight that walking in the Light means to be united in Christ. The readings are fitting for the day – as we celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God.

In 2019, Pope Francis established the Sunday of the Word of God to be celebrated each year on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. As the Holy Father stated in his apostolic letter instituting the observance, “Devoting a specific Sunday of the liturgical year to the word of God can enable the Church to experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world” (Aperuit illus, no. 2).

The Gospel of today tells us that the spread of Christ’s kingdom depends as much upon us today as it did upon the Apostles during the time of Christ.  The Gospel passage tells us that Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.  The Kingdom of God is the divine rule in the hearts of people.  For his mission and task of proclamation Jesus invites an intimate band of people to be his disciples who would share his vision and mission and also become his witnesses in the world.

Another story will help you understand it better. A poor illiterate man wanted to be baptized. The parish priest asked him many questions to see whether he was fit for baptism. “Where was Jesus born? How many apostles did he have? How many years did he live? Where did he die? The poor man knew nothing of all these questions. Irritated, the priest then said, “At least you know prayers like the Our Father and the I Believe”? The man again shook his head. “What do you know then?” asked the priest flabbergasted. The man explained, “Before I met Jesus I was a drunkard who beat up my wife and children; I lost my job and was wasting my life.” Then he continued, “But after encountering Jesus, I’ve quit drinking. I work hard and have begun to love my family. For me Jesus is my personal Saviour!”

We meet the Lord in the Bible. He wants to speak to us and He desires that we walk in light. Just like the first story we do not go to God – that exactly is our problem. Let us go to Him and experience him as our personal Saviour.

 

Happy Sunday