The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the nature of our response to the call to begin again in our work as disciples of Christ as a new year begins.
Begin again
The reading from Hebrews asserts that God Has spoken by His Son.
* [1:1–4] The letter opens with an introduction consisting of a reflection on the climax of God’s revelation to the human race in his Son. The divine communication was initiated and maintained during Old Testament times in fragmentary and varied ways through the prophets (Heb 1:1), including Abraham, Moses, and all through whom God spoke. But now in these last days (Heb 1:2) the final age, God’s revelation of his saving purpose is achieved through a son, i.e., one who is Son, whose role is redeemer and mediator of creation. He was made heir of all things through his death and exaltation to glory, yet he existed before he appeared as man; through him God created the universe. Heb 1:3–4, which may be based upon a liturgical hymn, assimilate the Son to the personified Wisdom of the Old Testament as refulgence of God’s glory and imprint of his being (Heb 1:3; cf. Wis 7:26). These same terms are used of the Logos in Philo. The author now turns from the cosmological role of the preexistent Son to the redemptive work of Jesus: he brought about purification from sins and has been exalted to the right hand of God (see Ps 110:1). The once-humiliated and crucified Jesus has been declared God’s Son, and this name shows his superiority to the angels. The reason for the author’s insistence on that superiority is, among other things, that in some Jewish traditions angels were mediators of the old covenant (see Acts 7:53; Gal 3:19). Finally, Jesus’ superiority to the angels emphasizes the superiority of the new covenant to the old because of the heavenly priesthood of Jesus.1
Psalm 97 praises the Glory of God’s Reign.
* [Psalm 97] The hymn begins with God appearing in a storm, a traditional picture of some ancient Near Eastern gods (Ps 97:1–6); cf. Ps 18:8–16; Mi 1:3–4; Heb 3:3–15. Israel rejoices in the overthrowing of idol worshipers and their gods (Ps 97:7–9) and the rewarding of the faithful righteous (Ps 97:10–12).2
The Gospel of Mark describes the beginning of the Galilean ministry as Jesus calls the First Disciples.
* [1:14–15] After John had been arrested: in the plan of God, Jesus was not to proclaim the good news of salvation prior to the termination of the Baptist’s active mission. Galilee: in the Marcan account, scene of the major part of Jesus’ public ministry before his arrest and condemnation. The gospel of God: not only the good news from God but about God at work in Jesus Christ. This is the time of fulfillment: i.e., of God’s promises. The kingdom of God…Repent: see note on Mt 3:2.3
Chas Kestermeier, S.J. notes today is the first day of “ordinary time” after Advent, the birth of Christ, and all the subsequent feasts, and with Christ we now enter the world of everyday. Jesus here calls some men to accompany Him more closely, to eventually become His “disciples” (students) and even His “apostles” (envoys), and He similarly calls each and every one of us to be just those people, at least as His companions and hopefully as those who learn from Him as disciples.
God is very much here with us in our daily routines and the people we meet every day; let us pray that we accompany Christ faithfully as He Himself works with all of that.4
Don Schwager quotes “Common people on an uncommon mission,” by Eusebius of Caesarea (260/263-340 AD).
"Reflect on the nature and grandeur of the one Almighty God who could associate himself with the poor of the lowly fisherman's class. To use them to carry out God's mission baffles all rationality. For having conceived the intention, which no one ever before had done, of spreading his own commands and teachings to all nations, and of revealing himself as the teacher of the religion of the one Almighty God to all humanity, he thought good to use the most unsophisticated and common people as ministers of his own design. Maybe God just wanted to work in the most unlikely way. For how could inarticulate folk be made able to teach, even if they were appointed teachers to only one person, much less to a multitude? How should those who were themselves without education instruct the nations?... When he had thus called them as his followers, he breathed into them his divine power, and filled them with strength and courage. As God himself he spoke God's true word to them in his own way, enabling them to do great wonders, and made them pursuers of rational and thinking souls, by empowering them to come after him, saying: 'Come, follow me, and I will make you fish for people' (Mark 1:17, Matthew 4:19). With this empowerment God sent them forth to be workers and teachers of holiness to all the nations, declaring them heralds of his own teaching." (excerpt from PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 3.7)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 1:14-20 suggests there is one thing we can assume: these four fishermen had no idea what was in store for them. There would be many amazing revelations. But there would also be rejection, misunderstanding, and sacrifice. If they had known all this at the beginning, they might well have stayed in their fishing boats.
Thank God they didn’t have the big picture yet! Can you imagine a Church without St. Peter? Or the message that God is love without the story of St. John? It’s a good thing that the cost of discipleship unfolded gradually for them and never overshadowed the excitement and joy they first experienced. Jesus is calling you too. Every day he reaches out to you through your prayer and Scripture reading and through your encounters with people. When you hear that call—especially if it’s challenging—remember these four apostles. Remember their faith-filled response.6
Friar Jude Winkler connects the author of Hebrews to Greek philosophy and rabbinic teaching technique. In the language of Plato, Jesus is the form and the earlier Scriptures were representations of the form. Friar Jude reminds that God transforms our gifts and our weaknesses to service in His mission.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reviews ideas in Thomas Kuhn’s book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions that popularized the term “paradigm shift.” [1] A paradigm is a set of beliefs, images, concepts, and structures that govern the way we think about something. Kuhn (1922–1996) said that paradigm change becomes necessary when the previous paradigm becomes so full of holes and patchwork “fixes” that a complete overhaul is necessary. Brian McLaren uses the language of a “framing story” to describe the same phenomenon Kuhn observed.
If it [our framing story] tells us that the purpose of life is for individuals or nations to accumulate an abundance of possessions and to experience the maximum amount of pleasure during the maximum number of minutes of our short lives, then we will have little reason to manage our consumption. If our framing story tells us that we are in life-and-death competition with each other . . . then we will have little reason to seek reconciliation and collaboration and nonviolent resolutions to our conflicts. . . . But if our framing story tells us that we are free and responsible creatures in a creation made by a good, wise, and loving God, and that our Creator wants us to pursue virtue, collaboration, peace, and mutual care for one another and all living creatures, and that our lives can have profound meaning if we align ourselves with God’s wisdom, character, and dreams for us . . . then our society will take a radically different direction, and our world will become a very different place. [4]7
Our opportunity to undergo a paradigm shift as the Spirit transforms our gifts and weakness coincides with the beginning of a new calendar year.
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