Mark 1:14-20

Hebrews 1:1-6

Psalm 97:1 and 2b, 6 and 7c, 9

Mark 1:14-20

After John had been arrested,

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God:

“This is the time of fulfillment.

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,

he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;

they were fishermen.

Jesus said to them,

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Then they left their nets and followed him.

He walked along a little farther

and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.

They too were in a boat mending their nets.

Then he called them.

So they left their father Zebedee in the boat

along with the hired men and followed him.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to hear the words of your Son today, repent from my sinful ways with your grace, and believe more fully in the Good News of salvation. Help me to leave behind those things that keep me from you and hold me back from following your Son more closely.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Kingdom and Salvation: Jesus began his ministry in Galilee. This was to fulfill a prophecy in the Book of Isaiah about the people in the region of “Galilee of the Gentiles” seeing a great light (Isaiah 8:23-9:1). Jesus and the Gospel he proclaimed are the great light that enlightens not just Israel and Judah, but all nations. Jesus announced the “time of fulfillment,” and this means that everything promised and foretold in the Old Testament – especially about the restoration of the Kingdom of David and the Good News of salvation – is being brought to fulfillment and completion in his person and by his ministry. By announcing in Galilee that the Kingdom of God is at hand, Jesus is announcing that the first tribes of Israel to experience exile in 722 B.C., are the first to hear the preaching of the Gospel of salvation and the arrival of the Kingdom of God. This announcement invites a twofold response: repentance (metanoia) from sin and a turning toward God; and belief in the Gospel. Jesus is inviting the people to have a faith that flourishes in and works through love.

2. Fishers of Men: The call of four fishermen by Jesus to come after him was also a fulfillment of a prophecy. The Lord God promised through the prophet Jeremiah that he would send out hunters and fishermen to gather his scattered people (Jeremiah 16:16). The restoration of the Kingdom of David as the Kingdom of God begins with Jesus calling the first of 12 men to be his 12 apostles. The number 12 symbolizes that the New Israel has begun. The apostles will follow Jesus and be sent out to gather the people into the family and Kingdom of God. Simon and Andrew left their nets to follow Jesus. James and John left their father to follow Jesus. Even though they abandoned their earthly nets and earthly family, they will take up the spiritual nets of salvation and be incorporated into the spiritual family of the Church, the Body of Christ.

3. Who is Jesus? For the next four weeks, our First Reading will be taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. The letter seeks to answer the important question of whether or not Jesus was a priest. The problem was Jesus’ genealogy. Jesus was not a priestly descendant of Levi or Aaron. He was a royal descendant of David. The solution of the letter will be to identify Jesus as belonging to a more ancient and superior priesthood, that of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20). Before getting to this solution, the letter, which reads more like a sermon or homily, seeks to establish Jesus’ true identity. The author begins the letter by making sure that his audience knows that Jesus is more than a prophet and more than an angel. While the prophets of the past communicated the word of God to our ancestors in many diverse and partial ways, the Son of God speaks to us in a definitive and complete way. While the angels are excellent beings, the Son of God is more excellent. He sustains all creation by his mighty word, accomplished the purification of our sins, and sits at God’s right hand. The Son, the refulgence of God’s glory and the imprint of God’s being, is worthy of angelic worship.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I honor and adore you today with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength. You are my faithful and merciful high priest. Intercede for me at the Father’s right hand and unite my humble and imperfect offering to your powerful and perfect sacrifice.

Living the Word of God: Who is Jesus for me? How is the current state of my relationship with Jesus? How can it be improved? Do I need to be more attentive to his words? Do I need to fall down in adoration and worship before him? Do I need to spend more time with him like the four fishermen? Are there attachments to things or people keeping me from a deeper relationship with God and his Son?