This Sunday, the liturgy opens with a particularly solemn proclamation of a prophecy from Isaiah. In God’s name, the prophet announces that a glorious era is going to follow a shameful time, that the people of God “who walked in darkness” are going to see a resplendent light, and that this manifestation will take place in “the land west of the Jordan,” in Galilee, “the district of the Gentiles.”
Like all similar prophetic oracles, this one was uttered in a definite historical context and concerned events that were to happen sooner or later, but in any case, in a time to come. It is interesting and instructive to know the context of the prophecy and to relate it to historical vicissitudes. The exegetes look at these questions, but do not dwell on them because the perspective of these prophecies — of that read today in particular — goes beyond; without a doubt, it is messianic. In fact, the Christian tradition has read this prophecy by the light of Christ’s manifestation. The reason this text was chosen for this Sunday is that today’s Gospel cites it verbatim. Does it do so to show that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy? Undoubtedly. But this reference would be of limited interest if it answered only an apologetic preoccupation. On the other hand, the prophet’s oracle becomes quite useful if it allows us to better understand the meaning and scope of the Lord’s manifestation and, hence, the situation that is ours today. And this is precisely what happens. A text such as this does not look towards the past; it enlightens the present and the future, which the present fashions. In sum, it says, “Are you aware of the time in which you are already living? Are you aware of what God has done for you, of what is at stake in the present? Light has shone in the darkness; God has delivered us from our old slaveries. Sing for joy. Pray that you obtain the grace not to stray from the land of the living, and shout with all your might, ‘The Lord is my light and my help.”
Today, on this Third Sunday of Year A, we open the Gospel of Matthew at the passage relating the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. This passage constitutes a especially well-written introduction to the whole of the book that is read for thirty-three Sundays. The twelve verses of this text contain a certain number of words and expressions that will often recur in Matthew; his Gospel will progressively reveal their meaning and scope: “to repent,” “the Kingdom of heaven is at hand, ”to call,” “to leave everything in order to follow Jesus,” “to teach,” “to proclaim,” “to cure.”
It is noteworthy that the evangelist so clearly connects the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with the end of that of the imprisoned John. Matthew likes to insist on the continuity in the unfolding of salvation; hence his care in recalling the scriptures Jesus fulfils. The text from the Book of Isaiah quoted today highlights, in the first reading, the meaning of the fact that Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, “the district of the Gentiles.” It is in Galilee that Jesus found refuge after his stay in Egypt. It is to Galilee that Jesus summoned his disciples after his resurrection. And finally, it is after a last appearance in Galilee that he sent them to announce the Gospel: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20)
From the outset of his ministry, Jesus resolutely confronts what he came to fight against: the darkness which covered the world and which his light would dispel, the shame, and everything that kept humankind in the sadness of slavery. That mission, which the Lord himself began in Galilee, “the district of the Gentiles,”will also be that of the apostles and of the Church. We must never forget that spot where everything started, and we must unceasingly return to it.
The continuity between Jesus’ ministry and the prophets’ before him, is marked by the identity of their message, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” These are the very words with which we can summarise John the Baptist’s preaching. It is also what Jesus will repeat, in different ways, with an insistence emphasised by Matthew. For him, the Gospel is a “teaching to be lived,” through a conversion to which the prospect of judgement gives urgency. The evangelist is so insistent because this preaching, with its demands, is timely, necessary in the community for which he is writing, a community in which there are “good and bad”and even “pretentious leaders”; all must repent without delay. This situation remains that of the Church and of Christian communities. As we read it, we are struck by the obvious timeliness of the Gospel of Matthew.
As soon as he began preaching, Jesus surrounded himself with disciples called to become “Fishers of men”: “Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,” “James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.” Beyond the fact itself, the way it is reported must hold our attention. One characteristic of Jesus’ words often stressed by Matthew is, from the beginning, thrown into relief — his authority. Jesus “orders,” “enjoins,” “commands.”. The first four who were called and who “immediately” followed Jesus, leaving behind nets, boats, and parents, are models for disciples for all times. For the genuine disciple does not merely say, “Lord, Lord,” but also does the will of the Father as taught by Jesus.
The way in which Matthew presents the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is particularly instructive. Jesus, “went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom and curing every disease and illness among the people.” And he adds: “His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics and he cured them. And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.”
Matthew willingly generalises and amplifies the efficacy of Jesus’ interventions: “all who were sick,” “every disease”; similarly, “all of Galilee,” “crowds” coming from all regions. This is not a sort of pet idea that would cause the evangelist to exaggerate. In Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, Matthew sees the prefiguration and, and in some way, the point of departure of the universal mission of the Church. When the evangelist was writing, the good news was proclaimed not only in Galilee and in the surrounding regions, but also to the ends of the earth, to all nations. We cannot forget that Galilee was the cradle of the universal mission. Therefore, we “must know how to go back to Galilee, to recapture the moment of profound peace that was an encounter, and to begin anew to live it…….All of us, believers, possess somewhere within us Galilee, our own Galilee, in relation to God and to humankind Let us return to Galilee; the forgotten certainty will become a certainty once more; full of reality and untold possibilities. Then our faith will really be the assured belief in divine life, a certitude born of a rediscovered experience.” (Lumen Vitae 26)
In the liturgy of this Sunday, everything turns us resolutely towards the present, from Isaiah’s prophecy to Paul’s plea for unity, to the Gospel narrative of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The prophetic oracle invites us to be more aware of the present situation of the world and of God’s people. The time of shame and slavery has ended. Light has shone in the world, [Christ] offering to each one the opportunity to escape the all-encompassing darkness. The good news of salvation has resounded throughout the whole world. All who have ears can hear it and come near to the Lord who is already here near them. No longer does an illusory salvation rest with humans, but true salvation is found in him who died on the cross for all. The Gospel message is not human wisdom accessible only to a few. On the contrary, it is destined for the simple and all those who have simple hearts, for the crowd of obscure people, for us. From now on, we must gather around Christ, in the liturgy, the sacrament of the Body of Christ, who cannot be divided and gives the whole of himself to each. And then with confidence proclaim:
“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.”
“The Lord is my light and my help.”
Today the Church also designates today as “The Sunday of the Word of God” to remind us that this great light that has dawned is in fact the “Logos” “The Word.”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it…….The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him……..
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory…..”
“I am the light of the world says the Lord (the Logos) whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
