by | Jan 21, 2023 | Evangelium

SUNDAY 22 January

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday of the Word of God

Psalter iii

Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 95: 1, 6  

O sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. In his presence are majesty and splendour, strength and honour in his holy place.

Collect        

Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading: Isaiah 8:23-9:3        

In days past the Lord humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in days to come he will confer glory on the Way of the Sea on the far side of Jordan, province of the nations.

The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone. You have made their gladness greater, you have made their joy increase; they rejoice in your presence as men rejoice at harvest time, as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils. For the yoke that was weighing on him, the bar across his shoulders, the rod of his oppressor – these you break as on the day of Midian.

Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14

R/ The Lord is my light and my help.

The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!

Second reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-13,17

I appeal to you, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to make up the differences between you, and instead of disagreeing among yourselves, to be united again in your belief and practice. From what Chloe’s people have been telling me, my dear brothers, it is clear that there are serious differences among you. What I mean are all these slogans that you have, like: “I am for Paul”, “I am for Apollos”, “I am for Cephas”, “I am for Christ.” Has Christ been parcelled out? Was it Paul that was crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul? For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.

Gospel Acclamation: cf. Mt 4:23  

Alleluia, alleluia! Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom and cured all kinds of sickness among the people. Alleluia!

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23  

Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali! Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan, Galilee of the nations! The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned. From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”  As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” And they left their nets at once and followed him. Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him. He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people.

Prayer over the Offerings   

Accept our offerings, O Lord, we pray, and in sanctifying them grant that they may profit us for salvation. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 33: 6

Look toward the Lord and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.

Prayer after Communion    

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, receiving the grace by which you bring us to new life, we may always glory in your gift. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

The arrest of John the Baptist is a transition that coincides with the choice of the first disciples of Jesus. It is also a continuity in the proclamation of the message of conversion when Jesus, in turn, proclaims: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” This is the background on which Jesus calls his first disciples, two brothers and fishermen, Simon and Andrew, by the Sea of Galilee. He chooses them to become “fishers of men”, meaning those who are responsible for gathering people from all over the world into Christ. Paul confirms this unifying mission by exhorting us to greater unity, to perfect harmony of thought and feeling. Thus, through the preaching of our Lord and his Apostles, we who were then in the darkness of division can bear witness to the presence of the Kingdom of heaven.