Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:
‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan,
Galilee of the nations!
The people that lived in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death
a light has dawned.’

From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ And they left their nets at once and followed him. Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.

He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:12-23)

Reflection - The light shines

Last Sunday’s Gospel served as an introduction to Jesus, the Lamb of God.

The Sunday Gospels between now and the beginning of Lent will use the Sermon on the Mount to help us explore and reflect upon who this Lamb of God is and how we, as disciples, should respond to him. They will unfold for us how Jesus, the Lamb of God, is the source of true peace and how we can find our way to him and to one another – that is, how we can live faithful to the tradition of Jesus.

This Sunday Jesus begins his ministry in an unexpected place – Capernaum in the countryside, not in the holy city, Jerusalem. The familiar Gospel demand: Repent for the kingdom is close at hand, is sounded for the first time by Jesus, echoing John the Baptist.
To the ministry of proclaimers of the Kingdom Jesus adds four intimates who will be with him throughout the journey into the light.

The Gospel begs many questions: just what is this Kingdom all about? Who is this Jesus who seems to have the power to compel prosperous, ordinary men to follow him? What does it mean to be ‘fishers of men’? Why does Jesus begin his ministry in an unexpected place? What is this Good News of the Kingdom that Jesus offers?

In all, the Gospel serves not just to tell us about Jesus and what he did, but also to help us reflect on our own experience of Jesus: what does it mean for us also to be called (not just as followers but also as ‘fishers’)? How immediate and life-changing is our response to him? Can we follow him all the way to the cross? How do we proclaim the Good News of the kingdom? How are we healers of people and situations which are part of our lives?

You can download and print our prayers and readings for this Sunday:

pdf Celebrating At Home 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time [PDF] (5.68 MB)
default Celebrating At Home 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time [ePub] (4.93 MB)