This Sermon is prepared by
Rev.Fr.Peter Jayakanthan sss
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament
Corpus Christi Catholic Church,
Houston, Texas, US
03rd Sunday of Ordinary YearCalled to ………..Fish!Jon3:1-5,10 1Cor7:29-31 Mk1:14-20Dear Sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, I welcome you to the Eucharistic Celebration on this Lord’s Day. Every time we come into the presence of the Lord, we are reminded that we are chosen and called by name, for a purpose, and for a task. We shall thank God for our Baptismal call and our call with in our families. We also pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life that young and men and women will respond to the life of commitment and ministry in God’s vineyard. In this Year of Consecrated Life, we bring to the altar all those who are in crisis in their vocation that they may rise above their situation and continue with renewed zeal.An elderly man visits his doctor and after thorough examination the doctor told him, I have good news and bad news, what would you like to hear first? Patient said let me hear the bad news first. The doctor said, “You have cancer; I estimate that you have about two years left.” The patient said, “Oh no that is awful, what will be the probable good news?” The doctor said, “You also have Alzheimer’s, in about three months you are going to forget everything I told you.” The good news for us is that everyone is called; the bad news is that we forget that we are chosen for a particular task. Unless we respond to this call we will not be able to explore our God’s purpose for us in this world. If Jesus recruits twelve disciples today, whom will be His choice? Will He choose an IT person? Will He call a scientist? Will He call a politician or a business person? Will He call a teacher or media person? Will He call a person from the medical field? If He comes to today’s world or any time, He will keep calling only fishermen, and always fishermen. Why only fishermen? This is a people whose only livelihood is fishing. They know the ocean is huge; they are well aware that water can be dangerous at any time, they can tell the depth of the sea, they are hardworking, and they put their trust in the Lord every time they go out for fishing. I was privileged to serve as part of the parish team at a coastal parish on an Island between India and Sri Lanka. People used to go for a catch at different shifts. 02.00 am to 10.00 am, 02.00 pm to 10.00 pm are the shifts. Sometimes they get a good catch, some days nothing, and most of the time they may continue to try for long hours, risking their lives. They are people of hope and faith. They are simple and strong people. The women will come to church after sending their husbands into the sea for a catch; then they will go and wait for them at the seashore before their return. Their faith is like the depth of the sea, and their hope is like the vastness of the sea. Jesus calls them at their work. Jesus does not call the idle, rather He calls those who are active, moving and in action. He is almost commanding them, ‘Follow Me, and come after Me.’ Here we need to understand that Andrew was the disciple of John the Baptist, and brought others to be baptized and to be the followers of John the Baptist. The evangelist Mark says that after John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee and called them. It is a commanding call that you are not abandoned: ‘I need you and I want you to be part of this kingdom project and mission.’ In those days, fishermen were considered lower than those who work on the land. In Cicero's ranking of occupations (ancient form of ranking) (De Off 1.150-51), owners of cultivated land appear first, and fishermen last. God proves that they are important and special to them, although the world kept them in a low economic status. For the past 2015 years, the Church is the only major institution which continues to compare various groups and organizations. It may be political, secular and religious. The power of God worked through twelve meek, fragile and simple persons, to see the Church, body of Christ, spread throughout the world. Why do we fail to respond to His call? What do we lack, and what did these fishermen possess? We have two phrases, they are: Fishers of Men, who leave their nets, boats and father and followed Jesus. Here we have the reflection of leaving and gathering; and, Fishers of Men: catching the huge amount of fish then gathering them before separating them from the net, requiring patience and endurance. Jesus tells them, ‘you are called to gather people to be people of God, children of God, and to participate as brothers and sisters in the banquet of the Lord.’ Gathering is the first step in the journey of faith. In ancient tradition, ‘fishing’ was the metaphor used for teaching. The Apostles nurtured and taught the gathered to keep together as one, as united people of God. In leaving their nets, boats and father: one cannot realize, accept and respond to their call willingly, unless they are leaving behind, sacrificing and dying to oneself. They may not be aware of the martyrdom they faced at the end; but the willingness to be part of the mission of gathering, and the ability to leave behind, made them strong in their journey. In the first reading, Jonah struggled to leave behind the prejudice and biased thought about the people of Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. They were looked down on as enemies, sub-humans and as animals. The Jews hoped that these enemies would be destroyed by God, because the people of Nineveh were notorious and idolatrous. God wanted Jonah to gather this foreign pagan city as a people of God, but Jonah did not leave behind the prejudice about this city and people. However, through Jonah, the Ninevites responded to the call of Yahweh and gathered to witness as His children, as proof to him and others. Moses was called to be a leader; Prophets were called to be God’s spokes-persons. David was called to fight for God’s people, and Judges were called to guide the people. Mother Mary was chosen to be the Mother of God, Apostles were called to bear witness, and St. Paul was called to an instrument of God. All left behind something in order to gather these people for a task. You are called as mother, as Father, as husband and wife. You are called as a nurse, physician and as a medical person. You are called as a teacher, as media person and as lawyer. we are called to gather the scattered, to gather the broken, and to gather the rejected and wounded. Am I ready to leave behind, or sacrifice my time, my place and my prejudices? Sr. Theresa was a teacher of the sisters of Loretto, who responded to the call to gather the broken, as Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Pedro Arrupa was a medical doctor, who responded to the call to gather the afflicted from the experience at Lourdes, identifying with the powerless and poor, asking the Jesuits to address the new challenges. “Give God permission. Let God touch other people through you” are the words of Blessed Mother Teresa to then newly elevated Cardinal O’connor. I join you thanking God for His call to be Christian and a child of God, that we may continue to fish around us and among us, by leaving behind and gathering the needy- Amen. 
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