The following sermon was given by Fr. Agostino Fernandez, OSB, at the Abbey Basilica on January 25, 2009. While addressed to the general audience present, it is also very applicable to Oblates: “Like the disciples, we must leave our nets, the familarity of our former ways of living, and follow the call we have heard in the depths of our hearts.”
God seems to choose the most unlikely people to preach others (one of those people stands before you). Apparently it does not matter who brings the good news but who receives it. Jonah was a prophet who was sent to outsiders, people who were considered enemies of God’s own people. The first disciples were fishermen who spoke to the women and men of their own country. In other words, God’s salvation is intended for all, and it seems to make little difference who brings this good news.
In today’s readings (Jon 3:1-5,10; 1Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20), there is some similarity in the messages; it calls us to repentance. The grace of God requires a new way of living, a turning to God in faith and commitment.
In addition, the good news proclaimed first by Jesus and then by his disciples announces the advent of the reign of God. And those who hear this message are invited into the age of fulfillment. This salvific reign is a reign of truth, compassion, and kindness. It is a way of life lived in the holiness of the call itself. Repentance is necessary because we have not been living in this way.
Christ’s words in today’s gospel are not so much a matter of saying, “Look what God is going to do to you,” as they are a matter of saying, “Look what you are doing to yourself.” We really don’t need a prophet to walk up and down the streets to tell us that pride, greed, and hatred are taking the world on the brink of destruction. The disaster, the destruction that threatens humanity is not something sent by God. It is something we do to one another. The danger of destruction arises not from some outside force, but from within human hearts. Christ’s call to the coming of the kingdom is very clear. The reign of God will bloom where God has chosen to plant it. And with Christ it was planted in us, in human lives. We are all bearers of the kingdom of God. I will grow as we grow, as we begin to accept responsibility for our own personal growth, and that of our society.
Responsibility to honestly recognize that each of us are the architects of our own growth. To realize that if we do live in Nineveh, in the shadow of destruction, it is because we have chosen to live there. We have put ourselves there. And that is true for nations who choose not to feed and clothe and educate their people, who choose rather to be sure that they are capable of blowing up every living thing on earth, and it is just as true for individuals who experience their personal lives as empty, burdensome, and even frightening.
And so there is an urgency in today’s readings. Unless we embrace the gospel now and live it fully, we may run out of time. The world in its present form is passing away, and God’s call demands a total response and commitment from us. Like the disciples, we must leave our nets, the familiarity of our former ways of living, and follow the call we have heard in the depths of our hearts. We may be called from a life we enjoyed, as the Corinthians were, or we may be called like Jonah to a life from which we try to escape. In either case God’s call to discipleship is persistent, even unrelenting. As demanding as it may seem to us, we should be grateful that God does not give us on us.
My friends, as disciples we are called not only to enter the reign of God but to promote it and to spread it. We are ambassadors of God; we bring the good news of salvation, and we do this wherever we are and in whatever we do. Having been called by God, we now begin to live our lives in a totally different way (everyday is a new beginning), guided by the values of the reign of God rather than those of the world that is certainly passing away. As we celebrate this Holy Meal together let us recommit ourselves to be faithful disciples of Christ willing to bring the message of the gospel to our family, friends, and local communities.
