Sunday January 22 is Lunar New Year: the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. But the Chinese word for "rabbit" sounded like "meo" in Vietnamese, meaning "cat". So, thanks to translation, in Vietnam it's the Year of the Cat.
The Gospel conveys people in the light: walking, teaching and preaching, casting nets and mending. Which reminds me of a sea story.
In a dense fog, a ship's captain saw what looked like the light of another ship heading toward him.
He had his signalman blink: “Change your course 10 degrees south.”
A reply came: “Change your course 10 degrees north.”
The captain answered: “I’m a captain. Change your course south.”
The reply was: “I am a seaman first class. Change your course north.”
The captain was infuriated and signaled: “Change your course. I’m on a battleship!”
The reply came: “Change your course. I’m in a lighthouse.”
We are sometimes in darkness, in a fog, getting "mixed signals." Let Jesus become our light.
The word of God today gives us Isaiah, Paul and Jesus. Each lived a purpose-driven life, to use Rick Warren’s title. People want to live for something greater than themselves. This takes different forms in different people. When a person finds something that gives transcendent meaning, it awakens new energies.
Today's word takes us back to the eighth century before Jesus, to a man named Isaiah. Yes, ancient Assyria was on the march against northern Israel. Yet Isaiah speaks about the future: a great light, a king, will illuminate the darkness. This king will trust completely in God and will free the Hebrews from their oppressors.
Isaiah challenges us to trust always in God’s unconditional love despite problems and disappointments we may face. God is always close to us and won't give us more than we can handle.
St. Paul's letter deplores the divisions in the early Christian community at Corinth in Greece. Paul begs for unity in light of people's common bond: they are God's adopted sons and daughters, all one family.
Today, we find dysfunctional relationships everywhere. Paul would likely advise us to repent, keep our temper, share the work, make the best of the situation. Good advice.
The Gospel author proclaims that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah. He is the anointed one, the Christos, who will bring light into our darkness by proclaiming the good news: God has become one of us in Jesus so that we can become like God. Therefore, Jesus exhorts us -- as did John the Baptizer -- orient our lives to God! The kingdom is at hand!
And then Jesus begins to call some unlikely people to discipleship. Each of these folks experienced, at some privileged moment, an overwhelming sense of the divine in Jesus. They recognized with the eyes of faith what lay beyond the immediate appearance of Jesus, i.e., the reality of God in Jesus the Christ. And we see too with our eyes of faith. We can see, as Jesus tells us, that what we do for those in need, we do for Jesus.
Our faith, a gift from God, empowers us to relate to God. It answers the fundamental questions of human life: who really am I? What on earth am I here for? Faith is richer and deeper than belief. Faith calls us to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, to follow Him who is our way to eternal life, our truth who sets us free from falsehoods and our light who illuminates the darkness as we journey toward our heavenly home.
Faith is all about connectedness to Jesus Christ. It’s relational.
Belief is a profession of the essential truths of our Catholic faith that we proclaim, e.g., in the 4th century Nicene Creed.
We say: I believe in one God, despite many folks today who question the existence of God.
Yes, our God is all mighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. There is someone completely other and completely beyond ourselves: God, Father Almighty.
And yes, we believe in Jesus Christ, who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven. The eternal word became flesh, one of us, so that he could heal the brokenness on this planet. Jesus who for our sake was crucified, died, was buried and rose again is indeed our healer, our reconciler, our pledge of life beyond this earthly life.
And yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the lord, the giver of life. The power of the Spirit is within us and enables us to live a life of virtue worthy of our calling.
And we believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic community, to which Jesus calls all of us. We acknowledge one baptism and look toward the resurrection and the life to come.
The Creed underscores the essential beliefs of our faith.
But faith, a gift from God, empowers us to relate to the triune God, find purpose in our life and lead us on to our heavenly dwelling place. May we nourish that faith every way we can. Amen.
