3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, B January 24, 2021
Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
“Forty days more and” Jeanerette “shall be destroyed.” You think that might get people back to Mass and confession? It worked for Jonah in Nineveh, so why not here? Even Jesus started his ministry with a little bit of a dire note, “repent!” If Jesus and Jonah can call out for repentance and be successful, why can’t we?
We can, though not quite in the same way. In our ongoing reflection on the topic of evangelization, we must deal honestly with the fact that a central part of evangelization is calling for repentance, challenging people to leave aside their sins. The question is not whether we call for conversion, but how.
The answer to that is, “probably not the same way as Jonah.” For one thing, Jonah was operating under a very direct order from God and in a very different circumstance. He walked through a powerful pagan city that probably had not heard this message of warning many times before. We, however, live in a culture that has thoroughly ridiculed and rejected the street side preacher of doom and gloom. To even say the word “repent” in a public place is to make yourself into a joke.
Part of the problem is probably how this gospel passage looks to us. We see Jesus show up, shout about repentance, and then invite a few fisherman to join him. Incredibly, they immediately leave their nets and follow him, giving us the impression that a single proclamation and invitation is enough. But that’s not what happened. Mark’s gospel is the abbreviated form. He highlights key moments and presents them in a way to make theological points. These things happened, but there is still a greater context. In this case, it is that this is not the first time these fisherman meet Jesus. Mark tells us this happened after John the Baptist was arrested. Last week’s gospel gave us the backstory.
Before his arrest, John the Baptist had disciples, one of which is Andrew, who we see again today. Andrew and those around him had already been listening to John’s teaching for a while; they had previous encounters with Jesus, including at least one evening spent sharing a meal and learning from him. So, when Jesus walks up to them and invites them to follow him, it was the next step in a journey already underway.
Nonetheless, Jesus’ message did begin with the call for repentance. He calls these men to become “fishers of men” who also proclaim repentance. Even though priests and bishops have a special share in the mission, all baptized Catholics are also called to carry this call of conversion into the world.
How do ordinary Catholics in the world carry out that mission? In part by encouraging our own children to be open to this special invitation from God. So many parents want a good priest, but don’t want their son to become one. So many people like to have sisters serving their community, but recoil at the idea of their daughter joining the convent. Don’t do that. Encourage your children to see vocations to priesthood and religious life as real options for them. Encourage them to pray, to listen to God’s voice in scripture, and to recognize that happiness comes from being generous, not from being rich and famous.
Yet, the majority of Catholics will not be priests, nuns, or monks, but still need to call others to repentance. We probably shouldn’t use the word “repent,” but we can still talk about the destructiveness of sin. God may not blow up cities anymore, like he did in the Old Testament, but sin still leads to destruction and evil has victims. Pointing out the specific effects of specific evils can be quite effective. The prolife movement changes the most hearts and minds not through politics but when it uses clear, concise information about the physical and psychological consequences of abortion and speaks on a personal level. Telling the stories of those who suffer from poverty and unfair wages is an effective way to challenge the sin of greed. The best anti-pornography movement out there is built on the testimony of survivors and former addicts.
We can do similar things in our own circles of influence. Learning from scripture and the examples of the saints, we can better understand the consequences of sin. In the context of an established relationship of trust, we can offer a direct challenge to cut out this or that sin, especially if they can see that you believe and try to live it yourself. Warn people that destruction is coming. Maybe not in 40 days, but St. Paul says right here that “the world in its present form is passing away.” Do you believe that? Have you learned to see past the illusions of this world to see the consequences of sin, both in this world and in eternity?
Start by repenting yourself and go to confession regularly. If you want to go to heaven, you need to try to bring others. If you want to be effective in doing that, you especially have to get rid of sins of pride and condemnation of others because they ruin our credibility and make our calls for repentance in effective. Do you challenge the sins of others to make yourself look or feel better? Or because you really care about their soul? If you really care, then you will challenge them on harmful behaviors, but you’ll do it in a loving way, not an arrogant one. It’s not us vs. them, but us and them against their own sin and weakness.
So, take the time to see the destructive consequences of sin, yours and others. Learn persuasive ways to show those consequences to others, but don’t nag them. Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit in prayer so that you recognize his voice when you proclaim the Gospel and repentance.
Loving God means loving our neighbor. Loving our neighbor means evangelizing them. Evangelizing includes calling them to repentance. And, yes, calling people to repentance means suffering when, inevitably, some reject that call and turn on us for it. But that’s not something to be afraid of. In fact, in light of Jesus’ example, it’s a good thing to suffer for those we love, even if it means suffering from them, because it leads to eternal life. This is the good news, the Gospel – that suffering is not the final word and that suffering patiently, suffering with love actually increases love until the suffering is no more. Repent, then, and believe in the Gospel. Repent, and proclaim the Gospel