Jan 24, 2021 - 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Jon 3:1-5, 10; Cor 7:29–31; Mk 1:14–20)
The theme of this week’s readings seems to be: “do it now!” In Jonah’s case, in the first reading, he really doesn’t want to go to preach repentance to the Ninevites. He does not expect to be well-received, in fact, he may fear for his life at being the bearer of such bad news. Amazingly, the Ninevites have the opposite reaction – they hear the truth in his words, and immediately repent! Paul, like a latter-day Jonah, also preaches immediate repentance – in his case, perhaps because he expects Jesus’s return to be imminent. In the Gospel, Jesus calls fishermen who are hard at work, and they immediately drop what they are doing to follow him. Note, He doesn’t require them to become better people before they can follow him: and they, for their part, do not finish their worldly tasks. Following Jesus comes first.
We may sometimes feel God tapping on our shoulder to do something as simple as calling a friend, or speaking out at a falsehood, or recognizing a teachable moment and acting on it. We may hold our tongue or put off our response until a “better time” – but God, who has created all eternity, has also crafted every moment. When He moves you to speak or to act, trust that he has also prepared the way for you.