Hebrews 1:1-6 / Mark 1:14-20
God
speaks to us through Jesus; Jesus is the imprint of God's being.
St. Ambrose was a fourth-century bishop in Milan. His eloquent preaching played a major role in St. Augustine's conversion to Christianity. In one of his famous homilies, Ambrose used this example to show how closely Jesus mirrors God the Father: "As the print of the seal on the wax is the express image of the seal itself, so Christ is the express image— the perfect representation of God." It is this same image that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews places before us in today's reading. In the love of Jesus, we glimpse God's love. In the mercy of Jesus, we glimpse God's mercy.
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How closely
do we study Jesus to try to learn more about our heavenly Father? Jesus said to
Philip, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." John 14:9
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Today we
begin to read from Hebrews. God speaks to us in nature, in the people around
us, in the events of life. Yet we are often deaf to his words and his silence.
Few listened to his messengers, the prophets. Finally, he spoke through his Son
Jesus. The Letter to the Hebrews stresses this point: in the Gospel we hear
Jesus speak and proclaim his Good News. But is it good news to us today? Do we
accept it as words and the language of his actions addressed to us personally?
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In the gospel, Jesus begins to preach the coming of the kingdom of God among people. He calls for penance and conversion and chooses his first disciples. These same words are addressed to us today: “Repent, be converted, be fishers of people for the kingdom.”
Time is very important to us. Most of us have a watch or some kind of time piece and throughout the day we will take a look at it. We arrange our schedules according to the time. We see how much we can do with our time and our lives revolve around the time of the day. Even in the liturgy, we begin with the first week in Ordinary Time!
And the readings of today also mention something about time, but it is not just about ordinary time. The 1st reading begins by saying that at various times in the past God spoke through the prophets, but in our own time, He has spoken through His Son.
The time
that is referred to is not about ordinary time or chronological time, but
rather it is about the appointed time - it is about God's time. And in the
gospel (of Mark), the first words of Jesus as He begins His mission is this:
The time has come ...
Yes, the time has come, and the time is now. The kingdom of God has come and it is here. So what are we to do? Jesus tells us to repent and believe the Good News.
With so much
time ahead of us today, let each minute, each second, each moment be a Good
News moment. Let us spend each minute, each second each moment giving thanks
for the goodness and blessings that the Lord has blessed us with and may we
share God's blessings with others and be a people of the Good News.
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Let us
Pray: Lord our God, you invite us,
disciples of your Son today, to be wholly converted to the gospel and to help
extend your kingdom. Give us hearts open to the good news and the generosity to
share it with people of our day. We ask you this through Jesus Christ, your Son
and our Lord, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and
ever.
