Third Sunday in Ordinary Time [2012]

“The time has come,” he said. 

“The kingdom of God has come near. 

Repent and believe the good news!” - Mark 1:15

Today we hear about the proclamation of the Kingdom of God connected with the invitation to repent and to believe the gospel and the selection of the first four disciples.

Though today's gospel reading is very short it is full of significance. The proclamation of the Kingdom is connected with the importance of repentance which John the Baptist have been proclaiming too. But aside from the call to repentance, Jesus Christ our Lord goes further by the addition of the call to believe in the good news, who is Himself. Hence believing in His words is the same as believing in Himself for He is the Word - the Kingdom - Himself being proclaimed [see John 1:1].

The gospel is so much more emphasized by the calling of the first four disciples. The urgency of His calling - and the mission connected with the call - is demonstrated by His word, "Come" - He did not leave any room for them to say "No" because He did not say, "Would you follow me?" or "Would you come with me?" - it was not a mere invitation, it was a true CALL and may even be considered as a command or an order. The immediacy of the four's response: they left their nets at once, with John and James even leaving their father Zebedee behind with the hired men, shows that they understood the urgency of the "what" though they did not yet fully understood the "why" for the Holy Spirit has not yet come. The "what" is of course the proclamation of the Kingdom and the "why" is the fulfillment of the ultimate union with God. 

As Christians we are called to proclaim the good news: the coming of the Kingdom who is Jesus Christ Himself and we have to repent and believe in Him so that we may be able to attain union with Him even while here on earth as His disciples and friends. 

Our life with and in God begins the moment we accept the call of the Lord Jesus Christ and leave everything behind. Let us pray for courage to make our response to the Lord's call as immediate as that of the first four disciples.