[Salvation]

From: Matthew 4:12-23

Preaching in Galilee. The First Disciples are Called

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[12] Now when he (Jesus) heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into
Galilee; [13] and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea,
in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, [14] that what was spoken by the
prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

[15] “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—[16] the people who sat in darkness have seen
a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has
dawned.” [17] From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

[18] As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is
called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were
fishermen. [19] And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men.” [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. [21] And going on
from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his
brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called
them. [22] Immediately, they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

[23] And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching
the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among
the people.

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Commentary:

15-16. Here St Matthew quotes the prophecy of Isaiah 8:23- 9:1. The territory
referred to (Zebulun, Naphtali, the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan),
was invaded by the Assyrians in the period 734-721 B.C., especially during the
reign of Tilgathpilneser III. A portion of the Jewish population was deported and
izeable numbers of foreigners were planted in the region to colonize it. For this
reason it is referred to in the Bible henceforward as the “Galilee of the Gentiles”.

The evangelist, inspired by God, sees Jesus’ coming to Galilee as the fulfillment
of Isaiah’s prophecy. This land, devastated and abused in Isaiah’s time, will be
the first to receive the light of Christ’s life and preaching. The messianic meaning
of the prophecy is, therefore, clear.

17. See the note on Mt 3:4. This verse indicates the outstanding importance of
the first step in Jesus’ public ministry, begun by proclaiming the imminence of
the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ words echo John the Baptist’s proclamation: the se-
cond part of this verse is the same, word for word, as Matthew 3:2. This under-
lines the role played by St John the Baptist as prophet and precursor of Jesus.
Both St John and our Lord demand repentance, penance, as a prerequisite to
receiving the Kingdom of God, now beginning. God’s rule over mankind is a main
theme in Christ’s Revelation, just as it was central to the whole Old Testament.
However, in the latter, the Kingdom of God had an element of theocracy about
it: God reigned over Israel in both spiritual and temporal affairs and it was through
him that Israel subjected other nations to her rule. Little by little, Jesus will unfold
the new-style Kingdom of God, now arrived at its fullness. He will show it to be a
Kingdom of love and holiness, thereby purifying it of the nationalistic misconcep-
tions of the people of his time.

The King invites everyone without exception to this Kingdom (cf. Mt 22:1-14). The
Banquet of the Kingdom is held on this earth and has certain entry requirements
which must be preached by the proponents of the Kingdom: “Therefore the eucha-
ristic celebration is the center of the assembly of the faithful over which the priest
presides. Hence priests teach the faithful to offer the divine Victim to God the Fa-
ther in the sacrifice of the Mass, and with the Victim to make an offering of their
whole lives. In the spirit of Christ the pastor, they instruct them to submit their
sins to the Church with a contrite heart in the sacrament of Penance, so that
they may be daily more and more converted to the Lord, remembering his words:
‘Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand”’ (Vatican II, “Presbyterorum Ordi-
nis”, 5).

18-22. These four disciples had already met our Lord (John 1:35-42), and their
brief meeting with Him seems to have had a powerful effect on their souls. In this
way Christ prepared their vocation, a fully effective vocation which moved them to
leave everything behind so as to follow him and be his disciples. Standing out
above their human defects (which the Gospels never conceal), we can see the
exemplary generosity and promptness of the Apostles in answering God’s call.

The thoughtful reader cannot fail to be struck by the delightful simplicity with
which the evangelists describe the calling of these men in the midst of their dai-
ly work.

“God draws us from the shadows of our ignorance, our groping through history,
and, no matter what our occupation in the world, he calls us in a loud voice, as
he once called Peter and Andrew” ([Blessed] J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By,”
45).

“This divine and human dialogue completely changed the lives of John and An-
drew, and Peter and James and so many others. It prepared their hearts to lis-
ten to the authoritative teaching which Jesus gave them beside the Sea of Ga-
lilee” (”ibid”., 108).

We should notice the words of Sacred Scripture used to describe the alacrity
with which the Apostles follow our Lord. Peter and Andrew “immediately” left
their nets and followed him. Similarly, James and John “immediately” left the
boats and their father and followed him. God passes by and calls us. If we do
not answer him “immediately”, he may continue on his way and we could lose
sight of him. When God passes by, he may do so rapidly; it would be sad if
we were to fall behind because we wanted to follow him while still carrying
many things that are only a dead weight and a nuisance.

23. “Synagogue”: this word comes from the Greek and designates the building
where the Jews assembled for religious ceremonies on the sabbath and other
feast days. Such ceremonies were non-sacrificial in character (sacrifices could
be performed only in the temple of Jerusalem). The synagogue was also the
place where the Jews received their religious training. The word was also used
to designate local Jewish communities within and without Palestine.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

In Jesus of Nazareth, Isaiah’s Light Dawned on Humanity — A Biblical Reflection for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A by Fr. Thomas Rosica

In Jesus of Nazareth, Isaiah’s Light Dawned on Humanity — A Biblical Reflection for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

January 19th, 2011

Both today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah [Is 8:23-9:3] and the Gospel passage [Mt 4:12-23] keep alive the memory of Christmas for us.  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness– on them a light has shined.”   The choral section from the Nativity cycle of Handel’s Messiah never ceases to move me each time I listen to Isaiah’s prophecy set to hauntingly beautiful music… words that reach their crescendo in the announcement of the birth of a child who will be called: “Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”  (Isaiah 9:6)  Isaiah’s prophecy forms the first reading that we hear proclaimed each year at the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

The powerful words of consolation were addressed to those who were in darkness and anguish, those who lived in the Galilean areas of Zebulun and Naphtali, lands located between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea.  In today’ Gospel, Isaiah’s prophecy of the light rising upon Zebulun and Naphtali (Isaiah 8:22-9:1) is fulfilled in Jesus’ residence at Capernaum. Since so much of Jesus’ ministry takes place in Galilee, and around the Sea of Galilee, it is important for us to have some historical and geographical understanding of the whole region.  We must know something about the Old Testament history of the land that Jesus made his own.

A land of deep darkness

Immediately preceding chapter 9, Isaiah’s testimony has built up a frightening picture of the darkness and distress about to descend upon both Judah and the northern kingdom. What is this terrible fate and darkness of the people and why? After King Ahaz and his people have clearly rejected the Word of God (cf. Is 7:10-12; 8:6a) the Lord declares that he will hide his face from the house of Jacob (8:17) as an indication of his dismay and anger. In a time of anguish and panic due to the wrath of God, people have taken recourse only too easily to mediums and wizards (8:19). But Isaiah observes that it is ridiculous to consult the dead on behalf of the living. In chapter 8:16-22 we read of the terrible fate that could overtake the people: “there is no dawn for this people” (8:20). Instead there is hunger, thirst and misery showing itself in physical as well as spiritual deprivation. People’s hearts are darkened and their spirits are greatly disturbed.  They get enraged and curse their sinful king and the God whom they have forsaken.  They live without hope and any consolation. Whether they turn their faces upward or cast their eyes down to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness while they themselves will be thrust into thick darkness (cf. Exodus 10:22; Deuteronomy 28:29).

Such darkness penetrates right into the heart and soul and renders the continuation of human life impossible. But that darkness and distress were not Isaiah’s last words.  Precisely upon this land has shone a great light.  A recurring theme in the scriptures is the fact that God acts in the unexpected context, in the unexpected place, in the unexpected time, in the unexpected way.

Isaiah’s hope for the northern peoples

Chapter 9 of Isaiah’s book stands in total contrast to chapter 8.  The opening line of 9:1 forms a transition from the darkness of 8:22. The prophet proclaims a message of hope and consolation as darkness and gloom give way to light and joy.  The great light comes decisively into this profound darkness. It tears people away from their confusion and emptiness, from the violence and tyranny of the oppressor.  The message of 9:1-7 is directed to those people who were in anguish.

The darkness and gloom that had settled over the land penetrates right into the heart and soul and renders the continuation of human life impossible.  But this darkness and distress were not Isaiah’s last words.  The prophet proclaims a message of hope and consolation as darkness and gloom give way to light and joy.  On the inhabitants of a country in the shadow dark as death, light has blazed forth!

The first result of this great light over the peoples will be the fall of the oppressor- Assyria, who must be defeated no less decisively than Midian had been (Judges 6).  Only after such a decisive defeat can disarmament take place and peace reign. The symbols of the Assyrian oppression: the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, shall be broken (9:4). The garments of war shall feed the flames (9:5). The destruction of war-like equipment heralds an age of peace…symbolically described in 2:4 “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

Jesus’ ministry along the Sea of Galilee

In order to accommodate Jesus’ move to Capernaum to Isaiah’s prophecy, Matthew speaks of that town as being “in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali” (Matthew 4:13), whereas it was only in the territory of the latter, and he understands the sea of the prophecy, the Mediterranean, as the sea of Galilee.  As Jesus moved along the shore of Sea of Galilee, and on the Sea itself, he shed light onto the lives of many people who had experienced the ravages of war, invasion, occupation and violence in the whole area of Zebulon and Naphthali.

In the gospels of Mark and Matthew, that first encounter with disciples is told very briefly (Mark 1:16-20; Matthew 4:18-22).  Walking along the shore, Jesus meets Simon and his brother Andrew.  They are casting their nets from the shore, probably hoping to catch some of the fish hovering about the warm springs that empty into the sea.  He summons them:  “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  Immediately, we are told, they leave their nets and follow him.  A little further along, he sees James and John, Zebedees’ sons.  They are sitting in their boats, mending the nets.  Wearied, perhaps, after a nightlong bout with the sea.  Jesus calls them in the same way; they leave their father and the rest of the crew and follow him.  For Jesus and for those whom he called, the Sea was a place and a moment of conversion. It is along the sea that Jesus calls others to join him in his prophetic ministry and outreach to the poor and the sick.  Pastoral ministry that is authentic and prophetic enters those areas acquainted with strife, pain, anguish, war and violence, and always reaches out and invites others to follow.

Jesus fulfilling the words of John the Baptist

At the beginning of his preaching [4:17] Jesus takes up the words of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2) although with a different meaning; in his ministry the kingdom of heaven has already begun to be present (Matthew 12:28). The call of the first disciples [4:18-22] promises them a share in Jesus’ work and entails abandonment of family and former way of life. Three of the four, Simon, James, and John, are distinguished among the disciples by a closer relation with Jesus (Matthew 17:1; 26:37).  In verse 20 and in Matthew 4:22, as in Mark (Mark 1:16-20) and unlike the Lucan account (Luke 5:1-11), the disciples’ response is motivated only by Jesus’ invitation, an element that emphasizes his mysterious power.  There is always a before and after in the lives of those who are called by Jesus.  For some, the conversion of heart is often a gradual process that takes time. For others, the conversion is an unexpected and all-encompassing lightning bolt experience.

Even though the call to follow Jesus was a privilege beyond imagination, there is no attempt to pretend the disciples were ideal people.  They were very real people – contentious, weak at times, often baffled by Jesus.  Even when they understood Jesus and his teaching, the disciples were capable of rejecting and failing him.  The gospel portrayal of the disciples is compassionate because it makes a place for people who struggle to reach their dreams, for people who at times forget their call to greatness.  People like us!  Following Jesus is a risk, as every new way of life is.  Each of us is called to teach as Jesus taught and to heal boldly and compassionately as he did.

Relationship between the Old and the New Testaments

Today let us continue our reflections on Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict’s Post Synodal Exhortation on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the World” and consider the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments [#40-41].

40.  …Moreover, the New Testament itself claims to be consistent with the Old and proclaims that in the mystery of the life, death and resurrection of Christ the sacred Scriptures of the Jewish people have found their perfect fulfillment. It must be observed, however, that the concept of the fulfillment of the Scriptures is a complex one, since it has three dimensions: a basic aspect of continuity with the Old Testament revelation, an aspect of discontinuity and an aspect of fulfillment and transcendence. The mystery of Christ stands in continuity of intent with the sacrificial cult of the Old Testament, but it came to pass in a very different way, corresponding to a number of prophetic statements and thus reaching a perfection never previously obtained. The Old Testament is itself replete with tensions between its institutional and its prophetic aspects. The paschal mystery of Christ is in complete conformity – albeit in a way that could not have been anticipated – with the prophecies and the foreshadowings of the Scriptures; yet it presents clear aspects of discontinuity with regard to the institutions of the Old Testament.

41.  These considerations show the unique importance of the Old Testament for Christians, while at the same time bringing out the newness of Christological interpretation. From apostolic times and in her living Tradition, the Church has stressed the unity of God’s plan in the two Testaments through the use of typology; this procedure is in no way arbitrary, but is intrinsic to the events related in the sacred text and thus involves the whole of Scripture. Typology “discerns in God’s works of the Old Covenant prefigurations of what he accomplished in the fullness of time in the person of his incarnate Son”.  Christians, then, read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. While typological interpretation manifests the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament from the standpoint of the New, we must not forget that the Old Testament retains its own inherent value as revelation, as our Lord himself reaffirmed (cf. Mk 12:29-31). Consequently, “the New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament (cf. 1 Cor 5:6-8; 1 Cor 10:1-11)”.  For this reason the Synod Fathers stated that “the Jewish understanding of the Bible can prove helpful to Christians for their own understanding and study of the Scriptures”.

“The New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old is made manifest in the New”, as Saint Augustine perceptively noted. It is important, therefore, that in both pastoral and academic settings the close relationship between the two Testaments be clearly brought out, in keeping with the dictum of Saint Gregory the Great that “what the Old Testament promised, the New Testament made visible; what the former announces in a hidden way, the latter openly proclaims as present. Therefore the Old Testament is a prophecy of the New Testament; and the best commentary on the Old Testament is the New Testament”.

Questions for our reflection this week

This week, in light of these rich biblical texts, take a few moments and ask yourself:  What have been your own moments of conversion?  What experiences or people in your life have been instrumental in deepening your faith?  Who have been the instrumental people in you conversion?  What concrete actions have you taken after a moment of conversion?  How have you invited other people into conversion?  In what ways can we, as disciples of Jesus, share in his mission of teaching and healing today?

Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
CEO Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation

The readings for this Sunday are Isaiah 9.1-4; 1 Corinthians 1.10-13, 17-18; Matthew 4.12-23.