THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2026)
Readings:
Isaiah 8:23-9:3
Psalms 27:1, 4, 13-14
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
Matthew 4:12-23
Isaiah is no stranger to the first-reading place, and his purpose today has less to do with geography, and more to do with our stunning awareness of his skill of being a prophet. Eight centuries before Christ was born, the tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali were attacked by the Assyrians. They were hauled off into exile, and their fate marked the beginning of the so-called everlasting kingdom of David, whose final demise would happen two centuries later. Once Babylon seized Jerusalem, the center of the Davidic Kingdom, its fate was sealed, and they too would be sent into exile.
During this time, the prophets often saw the necessity of raising the hope of the people, by proclaiming that God would restore Jerusalem. Isaiah prophesied that Zebulon and Naphtali, the lands first to be degraded, would be the first to see the light of God’s salvation. Jesus today fulfills that prophecy – announcing the restoration of David’s kingdom at precisely the spot where the kingdom began to fall. Matthew’s gospel echoes the words of Isaiah, when he writes, Jesus “left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulon and Naphtali, that what had been said through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulon and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land over shadowed by death light has arisen.” What we celebrated on Christmas was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. The kingdom initiated by God and promised to the peoples of old to be everlasting, is renewed in the person of Jesus, one who so often is referred to as Son of David. It is at this time in Matthew’s gospel, that, after He hears John the Baptist has been arrested and imprisoned (silenced), He decides to take up John’s mantel and begin his public ministry. As confident as He is in Himself, and God’s power to work through Him, He humbly knows that He will need help to spread His mission far and wide, so that all people may come to know the Light in the darkness.
We will never completely know what went between Peter, and Andrew, and Jesus, they were just ordinary fishermen, and somehow they were caught up in the net of Jesus’ overwhelming love for all people. It was enough for Jesus to say to them “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They left their nets behind and followed Jesus. Two other brothers caught Jesus’ eye, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and at Jesus’ invitation they left not only their boat behind but also their Father, so great was the connection – heart speaking to heart.
The newest of Jesus’ helpers (apostles), could not, at the outset, fully imagine what preaching the gospel of Jesus would entail. As they followed Jesus around they would learn that His message of peace, and justice, and compassion, was meant for all people, and while He and they might have started “teaching in their synagogues,” they would proclaim the gospel wherever they could, even “curing every disease and illness among the all people.” They, like Jesus, were to be “lights” shining brightly in their particular world. They are to preach the gospel, Paul says in our second reading, to unite all peoples in the same mind and the same purpose – in a worldwide kingdom of God.
There is a temptation, especially in our very polarized world, that being Catholic is going to church (or Zoom) on Sunday, saying hello to friends, having a rather standard homily, and possibly getting a donut and coffee after Mass. So many of us don’t want to be challenged to move beyond our self-inflicted stupor toward a better way of dealing with the world around us. Indeed, if we hear anything that sounds political we scream “separation of Church and State.” The reality is politics and Church intersect often, and there are times when politics needs to be viewed in the light of the truth shared with us by Christ.
What got John the Baptist killed? Minding his own business? Speaking blandly rather than challengingly? Or might it have been the words that he courageously spoke that stung a despot to the core? What got Jesus nailed to a cross? Was it simply the not too-challenging ”love one another discourses”? Or did Jesus irritate the powers that be, both Roman and Jewish, because He called out their poor behavior?
We are living at a time when authoritarian despots are disregarding the laws of their country, are overlooking the fundamental human rights of all people, and where lying and shaming people is the rule of the day. It was at the bold suggestion of Pope Leo that our country’s bishops began to finally talk politics, criticizing the Trump administration’s signature domestic policy goal, the mass removal of migrants by federal authorities. Were the bishops crossing a line? Or were they challenging the dehumanization of those who stand on the fringes of society? What would Jesus do if He were witnessing the same things? Why are some of His so-called disciples dealing with the horror by looking the other way?
On Monday of this past week, the three major Cardinals of this country delivered a statement to the federal government entitled “Charting A Moral Vision of American Foreign Policy.” Are they interfering where Church is not supposed to go? Should they not as very visible Catholics shed light on the growing darkness of this country? They are calling us to recognize that “the events in Venezuela, Ukraine, and Greenland have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace. The sovereign rights of nations to self-determination appear all too fragile in a world of even greater conflagrations. The balancing of national interest with the common good is being framed within starkly polarized terms.” In addition, Pope Leo has stated: “A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all the parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.”
I encourage you to read the entire statement, and the statement by the Catholic bishops, and the bishop in charge of the military vicariate. We are not called to hide behind the pretense of party affiliation, or some made up offense the separation of Church and state. The situation in this great country of ours demands that we speak up with our voices and our votes, always working towards a more moral worldview. The Cardinal’s Statement ends by saying: “Our nation’s debate on the moral foundation for American policy is beset by polarization, partisanship, and narrow economic and social interests. Pope Leo has give us a prism through which to raise it to a much higher level. We will preach, teach, and advocate in the coming month to make that higher level possible.”
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