TIME TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN AND EMBRACE GOD'S WAY.

-

January 24, 2021
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - B.
Sunday of the Word of God

Readings: Jon 3:1-5, 10; Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20.

A Sicilian proverb says, “Repentance washes away sin.” And a Jewish proverb adds, “Repentance prolongs a man’s life.”

Repentance is a continual activity. Therefore, every day is the most convenient and favorable time to turn away from sin and return to the Lord. The ordinary time, besides its calling as ordinary, is the most convenient period of our life to follow the Lord. Because it is in the ordinary of our life that we are called to battle against sin and to live in accord with the will of God.

Today's liturgy, 3rd Sunday in the ordinary time of the year B is a special call for repentance. The first reading opens with the prophetic mission of Jonah at Nineveh. The prophet received this message from the Lord, “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” And the content of his announcement was as follows, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.” God has seen the sin of the city, all their evil deeds. Therefore, he has resolved to destroy them. Nevertheless, because of his great love and compassion, the Lord has sent his prophet to warn them. The message of Jonah, at the same time it was a warning, was also a second chance the Lord wanted to give them. It was a call to repent and live according to the will of God.

The people of Nineveh, as we read, seized the inner meaning of Jonah's announcement. They took it seriously and repent. And because of that repentance, the Lord came down from his great anger and forgave them.

God, brethren, always warns the sinners that we are. He exhorts us to repent and turn away from evil. He finds no pleasure in punishing sinners. Though he hates evil, he always gives another opportunity to sinners to return to him. The ordinary time is the moment for us to experience that great love of God who is eager to forgive.

The Gospel is another call for repentance. Jesus' public mission starts with that message. We read from St. Mark that, his first proclamation in Galilee was: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

This is a message the Lord addresses not only to the people of Galilee but also to you and me. This is the time. The most convenient moment to turn away from sin. We spend usually our daily life in sin and all that leads us away from God. The Lord today tells us that 'Today' is the time to change, the time to repent, the time to take the resolution to sin no more.

To help in conveying that message of repentance, the Lord calls his first disciples, Andrew, Simon, James, and John, who immediately leave everything and follow him. Through the calling of those disciples, it is also you and me that the Lord calls to collaborate in his mission to lead people to repentance. Just like Jonah was an instrument of God toward the people of Nineveh, so too, the Lord wants us to be His instruments for the conversion of our brothers and sisters today. Because we are sinners, we must take it as our obligation to bring other sinners back to God.

As Paul warns the Corinthians in the second reading, this must sound also as an urgent need for us. "The time is running out." And today's events and happenings tell it rightly, "For the world in its present form is passing away." Things have changed a lot. Realities have also changed. If we fail to see this present time as a convenient moment for repentance, we will be surprised by the consequences of our choices.

The crises in which our world is immersed today, the Corona Virus pandemic and its consequences, the political crises, and all the social and financial situations should be prophetic warnings for us, that this world is passing. Reevaluate your 2020, look at the start of this year 2021... Do you not see signs of a passing time? Today is a convenient time for repentance. Therefore, let us turn away from evil and embrace the way of the Lord if we wish to be saved as God saved the Ninevites. Let us never forget that sincere repentance is the path to joyful life. Sin keeps us in sorrow, repentance opens us to joy and happiness in Christ.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ASSUMPTION OF MARY, BEYOND THE DOGMA.

-
Image
August 15, 2020 Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Readings:  Rev 12:1-6a, 10ab;  Ps 45: 10, 11, 12, 16;  1 Cor 15:20-27;  Lk 1:39-58. A Romanian proverb says, “Honor is the reward of virtue.” And a Japanese proverb adds, “The consequence is the reward of the cause.” Beyond the dogmatic definitions and declarations, all the Marian solemnities and devotions are but, an act of gratefulness and thanksgiving our humanity raises to God. For, in his great power and omniscience, he chose to become one of us, and he did it through a humble virgin whom he has elected to be his Mother. Mary is one of us. She is the instrument God was please, in all his creation, to hand-pick to contribute in his mystery of Incarnation and Salvation. We cannot separate Jesus from Mary. We cannot speak of Jesus as known through the Holy Scriptures without mention Mary his Mother. Some people try hard to eclipse Mary from the Lord's mysteries of the life, and mission....
Read more

GOD OF EVERLASTING MERCY.

-
Image
April 7, 2024. Second Sunday of Easter - Sunday of Divine Mercy – B. Readings: Acts 4:32-35; Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 Jn5:1-6; Jn 20:19-31. "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." Jn 20:23 A Chinese proverb says: “The Buddha has mercy even on the meanest thing.” A Filipino proverb adds: “Mercy resides in God; deeds are in men.” At Easter, what we really celebrate is a regeneration, a new birth, and a new opportunity offered to sinners. The Lord, by dying on the Cross, took away our evilness and made us new creatures. This newness opens us to new life. We are given to rediscover our original beauty that we lost in sin. It is a journey of purification that finds its origin in God's everlasting and always renewed love. We are celebrating today, the second Sunday of Easter, the Divine Mercy Sunday. Our opening prayer already gives the tune of our celebration: "God of everlasting mercy, who in...
Read more

Homilies Simbang Gabi 2021: The Days of the Nine Prophecies.

-
Image
December 16th to 24th, 2021. Why did God send his Son to be born in our human likeness and poor realities? What hides behind the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord? And how does this involve and touch us today?  In the Holy Scriptures, the Prophet Isaiah stands in a very high position when we talk of the coming of the Messiah. He has a list of prophecies that could help us understand and live better the Mysteries of the Incarnation of the Lord. The Christmas Prophecies according to Isaiah are found in Isaiah 7:14: The Emmanuel: “...Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 9:5-6 alone contains seven sub-prophecies: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” The child is born; the Son is given; the government upon his shoulder; the Wonderful Counsellor; the migh...
Read more