January 22, 2023 (Third Sunday in Ordinary Time)

“Come, Follow Me”

by Fr. Dominic DeLay, O.P.

[This is the text composed by the homilist prior to delivering the homily.]

Are you jealous of these two sets of brothers’ immediate and total commitment to follow Jesus? Maybe at the same time wondering at their foolishness? Do they even know this guy? What precisely does he mean by fishers of people? Is this a paid internship? Does it fit into my long-term plans? Does it have prospects for future employment and advancement? Is this a startup? Does it have sufficient funding? Are shares involved? Are there other employees that can tell me about their experience? Will something better come along? What will their families think besides that they’re crazy?

We know how it turns out for them. Travel, learning, fame. How many other companies’ original employees’ names does the general public know? Usually it’s the founder who gets all the press. But Jesus brings them into his great mission. And it’s not a mission to create the iPhone 20Z, as cool as that will be. No, it’s a mission to fulfill humanity’s other long-awaited promise: “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.” Andrew and Peter, John and James sense that Jesus is calling them to something great, but they know none of the details, including the hardships and executions that await them.

Are the followers of Jesus foolish or brave or both? What about us? Are we foolish and brave enough to respond to Jesus’ call? In addition to all our questions and fears, are we also hindered by busyness, inertia, or resistance to change, to sacrifice? What could break through all these barriers? How can we experience the zeal that propelled these brothers to follow Jesus so immediately and totally?

I wonder if we really hear Jesus’ call to us. Do we realize this call is nothing other than the call to be ourselves? We spend our lives applying to programs and jobs and relationships, selling ourselves with attractive resumes. Jesus asks for those things from none of us. Maybe he’s the foolish one. He’s not interested in our resumes but in us. And he knows us, better than we know ourselves. He calls us to follow him so that we can be ourselves, so that we can bring light to a sometimes dark world each in our own way.

Jesus called those first followers to his great mission of light and “went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.” Jesus calls us in this moment to follow him wholeheartedly and unreservedly so that we can fulfill the prophecy of light and, in doing so, also fulfill our destiny to be more fully and freely ourselves.

Let’s take a couple minutes of silence together now to imagine how the coming week will be different as we more fully step into ourselves and follow Jesus.