St. Mary's Catholic Church of Tomahawk, WI

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We are in the third week in ordinary time of year A. The first reading tells us that the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, the ancient northern kingdom of Israel, were transformed into the lands of the Gentiles. Hence, they lost the cultural and ethnic relations between the northern and southern kingdoms. But the good news is that the northern kingdom would encounter the Lord’s great light. Thus, the gloom and darkness associated with not knowing God would give way to the radiance and joy of knowing God and being in relationship with God. Do we figure out this difference?

The second reading continues the theme of unity. The Corinthian community was evangelized and nurtured in the faith by significant figures of the early Church and were aware of the honor that evangelization signaled. They delighted in various figures of evangelization rather than celebrating the reception of Christ and the gospel. This resulted in the failure to recognize themselves as the one, united body of Christ. We see this even today, division rather than unity. What is our role to bring unity among the Christian community at large?

The gospel passage tells us about the prophetic fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy from the first reading through Jesus’ early life and public ministry. Our Lord manifests the illumination foretold by Isaiah, not in extraordinary contexts, but in ordinary settings of daily life. The task at hand is humanity’s repentance because the kingdom of Heaven approaches. The Lord also calls His disciples to accompany in His mission of proclamation of Good news which widens the social and communal dimension. How do we respond to this call to repentance and sharing in His mission?

Fr. Aloysius Royan Anthony