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[v.5] 2026-January-25, 3rd Sunday of Year A, ●● Isaiah 8:23-9:3 ●● Psalm 27 ●● 1 Corinthians 1:10-13,17 ●● Matthew 4:12-23 ●●
Section 01. Good News at the Shoreline
The word evangelization
simply means good news.
Before it is anything we do, it is something we receive and “tune in to hear.”
And in today’s Gospel, the good news begins
very simply. Jesus does not start with speeches or strategies. He walks along
the shoreline and calls fishermen—ordinary people, still holding their nets.
“Follow me,” He says, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
He does not choose them because they are
eloquent or confident. He chooses them because they are willing.
What Jesus asks of them—and of us—is not
polish or perfection, but openness: a readiness to let His Word enter our lives
and begin to shape how we live.
Section 02. A Light That Does Not Stay
Still
Matthew tells us this moment comes in a time
of darkness. John the Baptist has been arrested. Galilee is a place long
accustomed to uncertainty and shadow. And it is precisely there that a great
light appears.
Jesus does not keep that light to Himself. He
teaches, heals, and preaches. The Word He receives from the Father becomes
visible in the way He moves among people.
That pattern matters for us. Disciples are
not meant only to contemplate God’s Word privately, but to let it take flesh in
how we live, pray, and act—sometimes in what we say, and sometimes in what we
choose not to say.
Section 03. Water, Chaos, and Faithful
Presence
There is something else happening along that
shoreline. Biblical authors have often used water to describe what is unsettled
and dangerous.
Before God speaks in Genesis, there is water
everywhere—dark, restless, unformed. Throughout the Bible, water often
represents chaos: floods, storms, seas that must be crossed or calmed.
We know this from experience. A flash flood,
a hurricane, even a weekend snowstorm can disrupt a home or a family in a
matter of hours. Routines collapse. Tempers rise. Everything can feel unstable.
That is why Jesus calls fishermen. Fishermen
do not control the water or the weather. They endure it. They rely on patience,
one another, and God’s grace.
Christ does not remove the chaos immediately.
He sends disciples into it. Through prayer, fasting, and quiet acts of
charity—shoveling a walk, checking on a neighbor—God’s grace begins to calm the
waters. This is evangelization: letting God bring order where the local
forecast of life feels most unstable.
This, too, is evangelization: letting God
bring order where the
local forecast of life feels most unstable.
Section 04. Evangelization,
Reconsidered
For many Catholics, evangelization feels
uncomfortable because we imagine it as something imposed. But the Church has
long reminded us that communication is not optional to faith. Long before the
digital age, the Church recognized that what we receive must be shared
responsibly.
Evangelization, at its core, is not about
broadcasting ourselves. It is about allowing God’s Word to shape us so clearly
that others recognize its truth.
Section 05. Noticing
the Vulnerable
One of the clearest examples of this kind of
lived evangelization today is found in the pro-life witness—not at its loudest
moments, but at its most human.
At its heart, this witness is about noticing
vulnerability and responding with care. It is about prayer and fasting for
people we may never meet. It is about refusing to reduce human beings to
mistakes or problems.
It is also important to say what it is not about.
It is not about punishing sin—whether in
others or in ourselves. Scripture reminds us that God does not desire the death
of the sinner, but that the sinner turn back and live. Where there is guilt or
shame, there is still hope. There is mercy. There is healing.
And there are many paths toward that healing.
Some involve confession with a priest. Others involve trusted lay Catholics,
diocesan ministries, or support programs, such as Rachel’s Vineyard. God works
patiently and personally.
You are welcome to speak with me but also
know you can Google / internet search for Archdiocese of Newark Respect Life
Office and I know you will be led to Cheryl Riley or someone on Cheryl’s team
who can help you. Just call the rectory
or email us and we’ll give you the number. No questions asked! Cheryl-dot-riley-AT-RCAN-DOT-ORG = Cheryl.Riley@RCAN.ORG phone (201) 912-3272
This, too, is evangelization: making God’s
mercy accessible.
Section 06. The
Instinct to Protect
Most of us do not need instructions to know
how to respond when a child is in danger.
Recently, during a family gathering here at
the parish, a young child wandered away and began heading toward the street.
Without panic and without hesitation, adults followed—gently, attentively—until
the child was safely reunited with family.
Nothing dramatic happened. And yet something
deeply important did.
We noticed. We acted.
That instinct is not accidental. It is God’s
law written on the human heart.
And it raises a necessary question: if we
would never ignore a child walking into danger before our eyes, how do we
respond when vulnerability is less visible—when it is hidden behind silence,
fear, or complicated circumstances?
Evangelization often begins there: with
noticing.
Section 07. Being
Healed and Made One
In
today’s second reading, Saint Paul urges the community to be “of the same
mind.” The word he uses suggests repair—like mending torn garments or fishing
nets.
Before
nets can be cast, they must be mended.
The
disciples Jesus calls are not perfect. They will fail and misunderstand. Yet
they are healed, forgiven, and gradually united by staying close to Christ.
The
same is true for us. We do not evangelize because we have everything together.
We evangelize because God heals what is torn and draws us into unity.
Confession does this. Prayer does this. Mercy does this. And once the nets are
mended, they can be cast again.
Section 08. A
Closing Image
Jesus still walks the shoreline of ordinary
life. He sees our routines, our hesitations, our fears. He knows where the nets
are frayed.
He does not ask us to shout. He asks us to
follow.
To let Him heal what is broken.
To let Him draw us into unity.
And then, together, to carry His Word into the water.
Not fearfully.
Not forcefully.
But confidently—trusting that even those who seem most resistant still need to
know this truth:
God does not desire the death of the sinner,
but that all turn back and live.
Mended by mercy, united in prayer, and sent
together, may we not only contemplate God’s Word—but communicate it to those
with ears to hear.
[END]
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