The Call to Repentance

Weekly Missionary Reflection
3rd Ordinary Sunday, 21 January 2023
Jnh. 3:1-5,10; Ps. 25:4bc-5ab,6-7bc,8-9; 1Cor. 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
(Mark 1:15)

Today’s Gospel tells about Jesus’ first ministry in Galilee, His proclaiming the Gospel, and also the call of His first disciples. The Gospel begins with the moment after John is arrested, and Jesus begins to proclaim the Gospel of God in Galilee. This shows that in every situation, even in adversity or temptation, God has a wonderful plan for us. Jesus comes at the right time to begin His ministry.

Beginning His ministry, Jesus proclaims repentance for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus wants to invite all of us to listen to His words of believing in God and turn from bad habits. Jesus wants us to gradually prepare ourselves to welcome the Kingdom of God.

In His first ministry, Jesus also begins to call His first disciples. They are ordinary, simple, and uneducated people and fishermen. At this point, Jesus wants to show that each of us is called and when we are called, we have to respond fast and truthfully, like the first disciples in today’s Gospel. When Jesus calls them, they don’t doubt and delay, instead, they immediately abandon their activities and follow Jesus.

Jesus’ chosen people have no time to prepare themselves. Jesus doesn’t choose the scholars of religion or the famous ones. Jesus doesn’t choose the people from the temple, but at the shore, those who are working. The call to follow Jesus transforms the lives of the disciples: family, job, and so on. Becoming the disciples of Jesus means obeying Jesus’s calling unconditionally. The call to become a disciple is not a call for a volunteer who works according to our interests and time. Becoming Jesus’ disciple doesn’t mean surrendering our belongings and living in poverty. Jesus calls His disciples to live good lives and animate the spirit of the Gospel in our daily lives.

Like Jesus’ disciples in today’s Gospel, whose lives are transformed totally when encountering Jesus, our lives as Jesus’ disciples today are also transformed. We are called to live the lifestyle of Jesus: ministering for the grace of God, not for our self-interest. We are called to always renew ourselves in constant repentance to prepare ourselves to welcome Jesus in our lives. Let’s strive to become Jesus’ disciples who animate the spirit of Gospel and repentance.

Our mission today: confess our sins and live well with everyone.

(Ignasius Lede – Commission for Mission of The Bishop’s Conference of Indonesia)

DAILY DEDICATED PRAYER

Lord, our Father, I present my today prayer, thought, word, work, joy and sorrow in the unity with Your Son, Jesus Christ, who always presents Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit animating Jesus, also be my guidance and strength today so that I am ready to be the witness of Your love.

Together with Mary, Mother of Jesus and the Church, in particular I present my prayer for our Pope and apostle prayer of Indonesian Church of this month:

Universal Church Intent: For the gift of diversity in the Church
We pray that the Holy Spirit may help us to recognize the gift of different charisms within the Christian community and to discover the richness of different traditions and rituals in the Catholic Church.

Indonesian Church Intent: Young families
We pray that the young families may find their intimate private spacewith full of God’s love in the midst of their activities at work,household, church and society.

Amen.