Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

January 25, 2026

Matthew 4: 12-23

One of the first things we may notice about today's Gospel is that Jesus quotes from the reading from Isaiah. By doing this Jesus underlines that he is continuing the work of salvation deeply rooted in God’s involvement with humanity, with us. Jesus is calling the same people John the Baptist was: “the people who sit in darkness...those overshadowed by death.” And he brings to them the very things Isaiah is talking about: “[these] people...have seen a great light;” and in spite of death, “a light has risen.”

The second thing we may notice is Jesus’ humility and sensitivity. Jesus did not begin his public ministry in earnest until John had been arrested. Did he respect the work of John? Did he feel that only when John was unable to preach that the time had come for Jesus to do so? Maybe Jesus was aware of the problems St. Paul mentions in the second reading: that factions can form about the message and who said it.

And finally, when Jesus began to choose a core of disciples, he did not do it in the way an ordinary rabbi would; an ordinary rabbi would preach and accept those disciples who came to him. Jesus, however, called them himself. And he called them from the ranks of ordinary people who did their best to live their religion, perhaps, but were not trained religious people, neither priests, scribes, not Pharisees.

es, Jesus called ordinary folks: the first were fishermen. They were the middle class of their day, owning a small business, working hard each day for their livelihood and that of their families. First, the brothers Andrew and Peter, then the brothers James and John: these two family units were the core of Jesus' first followers. Would they have had the courage as individuals to follow him? Did their brother's faith strengthen their own? Family is so often the seedbed of faith: the example of a life lived in faith is the greatest proof that it is both possible and desirable to follow Jesus. Close friends can provide that kind of living witness for us, as we can for them. Though faith has to be able to thrive in solitude, it is never a wholly private matter. 

Jesus called these disciples to be the beginning of a long, continuous line of people carrying God’s message to others. After all, many of the prophets started out living very down-to-earth lives. Jesus called them to carry on the message of John the Baptist which was to alert people that the messiah was here and that they should take care how they lived their lives. He called them; Jesus did not wait for a person to choose him, rather, he chose the ones he wanted. And when he chose them, he expected them to begin bring his message to others right away, not next week or year. 

Today, we are not considering these things as an exercise in recounting the story of Jesus or those first apostles. No, we are thinking about the call because that call comes to us today. Jesus is choosing us, even if we are not quite ready to choose him. Jesus is asking you today to bring him to friend and stranger. He is choosing you to begin doing this now, not tomorrow, next week or next year. What do you say to him; what are you going to do?

Fr. John Tran