Pastor's Message

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

"The Lord is my LIght and my Salvation, whom shall I fear.”   Psalm  27.1         

          The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? We sang in the Responsorial Psalm of today.

          One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord… I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord, in the Land of the Living … Wait for the Lord … Be Strong!

          Psalm 27 is a beautiful prayer, an ultimate declaration of faith in the greatness of God and a trust in his boundless protection. The Psalm, as for many other Psalms, are traditionally attributed to King David. He, though known to have been a very strong and effective warrior, never relied on himself. He had learnt in his youth, as a shepherd, that his strength and success came from God.  Yes, David, had attributes that would make any leader great; a sincere fear of the Lord and absolute faith in God, for his salvation.”

          Prophet Isaiah, in the 1^st Reading today addresses his people who unlike King David, relied on the power of man. They sought help from the Syrians, against the advice of the Prophet who was pleading with them to trust in God’s protection. The result was destruction and ruin. The Assyrian made them a vassal state and settled among them, bringing with them their Idol gods. Paganism took root and the remnants of the chosen people, thinly scattered in the region, found it difficult to retain their faith in the One True God.

          Isaiah points to this, as great darkness; the return to idolatry and vanishing of the knowledge of the One True God; He used the word “gloom,” to describe the void; that emptiness in a heart of one who turns away from God.

          Isaiah, foresaw a time, when this darkness would be turned into brightness; brilliant as the noon-day. We read; “For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, will be broken!

          This Prophecy of Isaiah is proclaimed by Mathew the Evangelist, as having been fulfilled in Christ Jesus in today’s Gospel Reading!  As we read: He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum, by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the Prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles- the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.”

         Jesus, in the Gospel, begins his public ministry, having been silent in Nazareth for 30 years. John the Baptist exits the scene; his role having been fulfilled, and is arrested.

         Jesus begins the Mission of his Father with the Words “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Repent; make a U-turn, back toward the Living God, aware of the Privilege allotted one in his Son’s coming. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” God is acting directly among his people! This is the moment when God’s Presence is real and touchable as in the Garden of Eden.

         God’s Eternal Plan for us in Christ Jesus, is that, we be with Him and experience Eternal Joy in his Presence forever. Blessed are you because you believe.

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