Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 4, 12-23
In our lives, many of us have “turning points” that make us work more fervently or sometimes make us do things at a more urgent pace.
With Jesus Christ, this happened when John the Baptist was arrested. At first, Jesus was happily baptising people on the other side of the Jordan, just opposite where John was baptising as well. But when John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus knew immediately that he had to take on a much bigger role and so began his ministry that would last for about three years. And these three years would have a very profound effect on his followers who would carry on his legacy that has existed until this very day.
So how did Jesus go about his ministry? Jesus’ ministry consisted of three components. First, Jesus preached, well more accurately, he proclaimed. He proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is near at hand. And in order to be ready for this coming of the kingdom, one must undergo conversion. In Greek it is called “metanoia”. Metanoia is a radical kind of conversion. It is an about-face or a 180 degree turn. Conversion is not just addressing the symptoms of sin like stealing, watching pornography and the like. Conversion means that you make an assault on the roots of sin like envy, pride, self-indulgence and the like. With this kind of preaching, Jesus became popular because sinners who were marginalised by society now had a chance to start all over again.
Second, Jesus healed. Jesus used healing not only to give relief to those who were sick and dying but he also used healing to show that God was looking after his people. If we look closely, Jesus expelled evil spirits from people who were suffering because of them. And these evil spirits would profess that Jesus was the “Son of God” but Jesus had them silenced. And because of faith, even sick people who just touched his cloak got healed. But also Jesus healed in a “holistic” way. He didn’t heal only the physical ailment of the sufferers but he focused his healing on people who were marginalised because of their illness. One glaring example was the people afflicted with leprosy. In Jewish society, once one was afflicted with leprosy, one had to be banished from the community and sent to a community on the outer borders of the town to live with fellow lepers and to depend on alms of people. Jesus healed these people not only from their leprosy but also for their alienation from the bigger community.
Lastly, Jesus founded a new religion. And unlike other great people that left their legacy through writing, Jesus never wrote anything but he left something more powerful than writing and that is a living community. Jesus formed a community and taught them to make sure that even when he was gone, there would be people who would carry on what he had taught them. Jesus called his disciples from their field of work; most of them were fishermen, not much educated except maybe with the basics, but these people had something that made them be chosen by Jesus and that was their faith and openness to receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus spent most of his time teaching and training his group. He sent them two by two and gave them power to preach, heal and expel demons. Of course, they experienced shortcomings, especially when his disciples doubted and left Jesus in his time of need, but when they received the Holy Spirit, they spread his teaching all over, to the extent that there are now more than 2 billion people who believe in Jesus.
We, as Christians, are also given power through the Holy Spirit that we have received by baptism. We can also do what Jesus did during his ministry. We are also called to follow his call for repentance and conversion, while we are also obliged to preach and live his gospel. We also are given the power to heal our sick brothers and sisters. By being generous to people in need, by giving counsel to the confused and distressed, by giving our time to visit people in hospitals and jails, we can heal like Christ. And lastly, as Jesus has trained his disciples, we are also called to become teachers of faith to our children. We are also called to bear witness to his gospel and attract people to follow Christ. We are now the modern-day disciples of Christ, to bring people closer to Christ while we ourselves are also making that journey towards the kingdom of God.
Hopefully, through the gospel for today, we may understand not only the components of the successful ministry of Jesus but also undertake them ourselves so that more may be able to come closer to Christ and know him through our lives and the living of the gospel Jesus has preached.