Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A (Matthew 4:12-23) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
FIRST READING - Is 8:23-9:3
"Galilee of the Nations, the people have seen a great light."
A reading from the Book of Isaiah
23 There is no gloom where there had been distress. Where once he degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, now he has glorified the way of the Sea, the land across the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations.[a]
1 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
Upon those who lived in a land of gloom
a light has shone.
2 You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing;
They rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest,
as they exult when dividing the spoils.
3 For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
The rod of their taskmaster,
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.[b]
SECOND READING - 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17
"I urge you, brothers, that all of you agree in what you say."
A reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians
10 I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. 12 I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to[b] Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 [c]Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
17 [a]For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,[b] so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mt 4:12-23
"He went to live in Capernaum, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled."
✠From the Gospel according to Matthew
12 When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.”
17 [a]From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
[b] 18 As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 [c]At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.
[d] 23 He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,[e] proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A (Matthew 4:12-23)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
In today's Word of God, God the Father calls all humanity to listen to the Word of God the Father and put it into practice, just as Jesus Christ personally came down to earth as a man and went out to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, calling people to repent, abandon the path of sin, and return to reconcile with God the Father through a life of holiness, love, forgiveness, and obedience to the holy will of God the Father, and to love one's neighbor as oneself.
Today’s present Word of God continues to recall the teaching of Jesus Christ from the past: repent of your sin and reconcile with God the Father, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. This is the reminder of Jesus Christ both in the past and today.
Put on the spirit of awaiting the Lord's coming, prepare your soul and body, return to God the Father, and reconcile with Him by recognizing your sin, resolving to renounce sin, asking God to forgive you, and performing acts of atonement right here on earth—that is the appropriate way for humanity to attain the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Abandon your old self and put on a new self—a person who lives a holy life and follows Jesus Christ, a person of meekness, humility, reverence, and obedience to the holy will of God the Father through the activity of the Holy Spirit in your very soul and body, which is peace, charity, joy, cheerfulness, gentleness, humility, compassion, kindness, faithfulness, mildness, and temperance.
God the Father desires His children in the world today to be vigilant against the temptation of Satan. For the activity of the Holy Spirit is very powerful, and He reveals Himself in a flexible and mysterious way, in accordance with the mystery of the Triune God.
Satan is also very cunning and sophisticated; they seek every way to tempt humanity to oppose the holy will of God the Father, to oppose the Present Word of God, to oppose the activity of the Holy Spirit, and instead act according to Satan's temptation.
Therefore, in the Word of God today, God the Father calls upon all His children to unite more closely with God the Father through prayer, through sacrifice, through self-denial, through fasting, through abandoning their own will, their selfish ego, anger, and hatred, so as to completely submit to the holy will of God the Father with meekness, humility, and the grace, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Present Word of God, which instructs humanity during the time of the Holy Spirit's activity, recalling the Word that Jesus Christ taught in the Eternal Word of God in the Bible and putting them into practice, so that they may hope to be freed from the captivity of Satan in their soul and body, which has held them for so long, from the time they gained reason until the present.
God the Father desires to teach His children today not to yield to the temptation of Satan any longer!
Resist them and constantly obey the holy will of God the Father in all places and at all times; submit to His holy will, bow down in reverence, and turn towards God the Father, and He Himself will cast Satan out of our souls and bodies with the assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Angels, and the Saints in this new era, so that we may do all that God the Father desires of us, which is obedience, listening to the Word of God the Father, and putting it into practice according to the call of Jesus Christ in the past and through the activity of the Holy Spirit in the Present Word of God today.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Comments