3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

 

PERSON-TO-PERSON

Mk 1: 14-20

 

 

 

The problem with us Catholics is that we do not know how to evangelize. We are afraid to proclaim Christ to others.

 

Don’t we normally think that this job is for the Protestants who are not shy at all to open the Bible in your face and read verses to you? Or perhaps we believe that mission work is for those who do it full time – the missionary priests and nuns who go abroad to work among the poor and the non-Christians.

 

Even Jonah in our first reading (Jon 3) today thought that what God was asking him to do was too difficult. He tried to avoid it; he even tried to escape from the Lord just so as not to disturb his peaceful life. And why should he go to the Ninevites? He was prejudiced against these people. He just did not want anything to do with saving them.

 

Well, thank God for the whale that swallowed Jonah, he finally relented and went as the Lord had directed. And he must have been surprised at the reaction of the Ninevites to his words. It seemed they have been waiting for his message all along.

 

They welcomed his preaching. They received the challenge. They manifested their repentance and made good on their conversion. In the end, it was still Jonah who became the instrument for the salvation of an entire population.

 

In the Gospel (Mk 1), the Lord Jesus, with determination and without hesitation, went about spreading Good News. He spoke of the Father’s kingdom and enthusiastically invited his hearers to try getting on board.

 

Such must have been his convincing power that immediately, two pairs of brothers working in the docks followed him. They left behind everything they knew of life until that time, willing to discover the unknown adventure this preacher has just mentioned to them. The fishermen were in the process of becoming fishers of men.

 

The fact is that, many people are just waiting for someone to approach them and invite them to a life of renewal and dedication to the Lord. Imagine how many Catholics, approached by missionaries from other faiths, unhesitatingly listen, agree and leave their faith in favor of a new one presented to them.

 

People are hungry for the Word. People are thirsty for a message of hope. People are pining for someone to lead them to God.

 

Pope Francis said that evangelizing is as simple as starting a conversation. By listening to people’s situations and their needs, one already establishes a contact and interest. At the proper time, a Christian can mention something, by way of advice or suggestion, that touches on the message of Jesus or on a personal testimony of faith. Even that simple conversation is already the start of the proclamation of the Gospel.

 

Jonah was surprised by the people’s positive reception of his message. The Lord Jesus visited people where they are and spoke to them from the heart.

 

We too, can make a difference if only we desire to share our faith to others through actions as simple as a casual conversation, a caring visit, and a loving gesture.

 

 

Pls share with a friend… photo above from the internet, thanks!