Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 68
21 JAN 2024 A.D.


Reading 1
Jon 3:1-5, 10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:
"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD'S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, "
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.

Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.


Reading 2
1 Cor 7:29-31

I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.


Alleluia
Mk 1:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
Mk 1:14-20

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel."

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;
they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
He walked along a little farther
and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them.
So they left their father Zebedee in the boat
along with the hired men and followed him.


Overview of the Gospel:

• The events of this Sunday’s Gospel according to Mark occur just after Jesus’ baptism by John
the Baptist, and his temptation by the devil in the wilderness (Mark 1:9-13). It also occurs after
the initial calling of the first four disciples we heard about last Sunday.

• Jesus begins his preaching after the arrest of John, who is considered to be the last of the Old
Testament prophets. The time for prophecy is through: Jesus picks up John’s call to repent
(verses 1-8, 15) and announces the kingdom of God (verses 14-15).

• Jesus calls for repentance before anything else—before knowledge, good works, even before
faith. The word “repent” literally means to “change your mind”; to go from rebellion against God
to obedience (Jeremiah 3:22; Isaiah 30:15; Hosea 14:2; Matthew 4:17; Mark 6:12).

• The call to repentance comes from the mercy of God, and the response is conversion, both
initially and throughout the life of a disciple of Jesus.

• St. Mark tells us that Simon Peter, James, John and Andrew respond immediately to the call
by Jesus (verses 18, 20). The first three of this four will later form the “inner circle” of Jesus’
Apostles, being present with him at key points in his ministry (Mark 6:35-43; Matthew 17:1,
26:37). Andrew will play a key part in the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes
(John 6:8) which will lead to Jesus’ great Bread of Life discourse.
[special thanks to Vince Contreras: "Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics."]


"Having before you many examples of sinners who repented and were saved, be you also earnest in confessing to the Lord, that you may receive pardon for past sins, be made worthy of the heavenly gift, and inherit the kingdom of heaven with all the saints." ~St. Cyril of Jerusalem (+ A.D. 386)

Thanks!

You're always welcome, Brother, tortilla-flats!

"It's a great time to be Catholic!"

Great point, Zhuk!

Quite literally 'God changed his mind because sinful people repented!'

WOW! That's HUGE!

My read on this--comes from 2nd Chronicles, 7-14:



Funny thing--my Sister and I were just talking about this same point!

Years ago, when we were kids--here in No. Ohio--used to be these huge free-standing billboards. Black background with bold white lettering quoting the above passage word-for-word. Haven't seen these billboards up here for decades.

God's 'reminder' gone unheeded:

Great points, Zhuk!

Here's the Latin Vulgate translation. The Latin Vulgate was translated from the original Greek language, ("Septuagint") into Latin by Jerome in A.D. 405. For over a millennium, it remained as the preferred translation of the church.



Near as I can translate:
"and God saw their works, because they had turned from their evil way, and God had mercy on the wickedness which he had spoken to do to them, and he did not..."

So what seems to be 'lost' in translation is a huge point=GOD SHOWED MERCY!

HE didn't quite 'change his mind'; HE is only reinforcing MERCY and FORGIVENESS through repentance.

Exactly what our Blessed Lord keeps telling us; "I desire MERCY, not sacrifices."

Let's go a step further--God being didactic--HE is the SUPREME TEACHER--HE showing US how it's done!

I like that--kind of circular: it is absolutely unlike God to repent of anything--and yet, he subtly shows how HIS MERCY is done to his creations--it's like: "Thanks, Father, now I see how you did it, so know I know how it's done and what you mean, so I can show MERCY!"


You're a great Catholic and good reader of Holy Scripture--I learned a lot here!

The OSB reads:

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways. And God had a change of heart about the evil He said He would do to them, and He did not do it.

Sure wish I knew Greek. The Septuagint:



Blue Letter Bible

Thank you. That is exactly the kind of information that helps me understand the Roman Catholic Church.