Father Rick Bolte's Homily

A: Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

Starting with Moses and the Exodus, the Israelites were organized according to tribes by the lineage of the twelve sons of Jacob or Israel.  When they enter the Promised Land, the land is divided according to these tribes.  During the reign of King Ahaz, the Assyrians conquer the northern part of Israel and the tribal lands of Zebulun and Naphtali are made part of the Assyrian Empire.  It is believed our first reading from Isaiah was originally a song praising the next king, Hezekiah, with the expectation that he could reverse Israel’s fortunes and regain these lost lands.  He was to be a great military and political leader and the light that would appear in their darkness.

It didn’t happen.  What was an expectation of Hezekiah became a prophecy for the future messiah.  When Jesus appeared, the people were expecting a great military and political ruler who would rid the land of the Romans and restore the nation of Israel.  But that wasn’t the kind of messiah Jesus came to be.  Jesus wanted to be the messiah whose power worked in the hearts of those who followed him.  He didn’t seek political, military, economic, or any other earthly power.  The sad reality is that as we anticipate the second coming, we go back to those same earthly power expectations.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus begins calling his disciples.  He calls them not just to follow along and watch but immediately calls them to share in his work, they are called to be fishers of men.  We too are called to be Jesus’ disciples.  We too are to be a source of God’s light in the midst of darkness.

Our world only recognizes earthly power.  We are impressed by those who are famous, rich, politically influential, athletically gifted, able to get things done, and the like.  That’s the face we like to show others.  We try to look like we have life under control.  We like people to think we have it together with no serious flaw to be concerned about.  This, of course, is false.  We work to maintain this façade while we fear others seeing who we really are, our true but flawed self.  We, like the world around us, live in the darkness of fear.

The light of Christ doesn’t shine very brightly when we are acting out of worldly power.  Looking back through the history of the Church, the worst things we did as a Church were when the Church had the most earthly power.  When we were poor and persecuted, we were often at our best.  When we are successful at maintaining the façade of having it together, of doing well in the eyes of the world, we reinforce the fear in others that they too should have it together.  We encourage darkness.

One of the most important aspects of the CRHP, Cursillo, Christian Awakening retreats is the witness talks.  If these talks are done well, the person giving the witness tells a bit of what their life is really like.  They speak of their weakness, flaws, and sin.  And it’s not about how they overcame it; it’s about what God has done in their life.  I think we all know the power of God in our lives.  I hope most of us can look back over, say, the last five years of our lives and realize we have changed, we’ve grown.  And that growth isn’t about getting wealthier or having more of any other type of earthly power.  It’s about something that has grown within us.  God has shown his light in our darkness!

But we have been called to be fishers of men.  It is not enough to say we have experienced God’s light within us.  We have to let God’s light shine through us.  We have to dare to let others see our real self and to see that God works in us despite our faults.  We have a choice to be people of darkness and fear relying on our own, earthly power.  Or we can choose to follow Christ’s call to walk in the light of truth and let others see the light of God’s power at work in our lives.