Call to Repentance & Discipleship
- Deacon Phillip Uro
- Jan 21, 2024
- 4 min read
Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
January 21, 2024
Jon 3:1-5,
10Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
1 Cor 7:29-31
Mk 1:15
Mk 1:14-20
♫Señor, me has mirado a los ojos, sonriendo has dicho mi nombre, en la arena he dejado mi barca, junto a ti buscare otro mar. ♪♪
The refrain I just sung to you comes from a very popular Spanish Hymn called “Pescador De Hombres,” which translated means “Fishers of Men;” and is a very fitting an appropriate hymn to sing on this Third Sunday of Ordinary Time. The English version of this hymn is called “Lord, You Have Come.” Now back when I was in high school and in college, I loved singing this hymn, it was one of my favorites, but it was not until I was part of the Evangelization Team at Saint Thomas Aquinas, with my then girlfriend Bonnie, that the words to this hymn moved me profoundly and brought me to tears one Saturday night at an Evangelization retreat. And for a long time after I found it very difficult to sing without breaking into tears each time. Which, I will get back to later.
Now this week’s and last week’s readings have similar themes with regards to a “calling.” Last week in our first reading we heard about Samuel’s call and his response, and in the Gospel, we heard John’s version of the calling of the first disciples.
Today in our first reading we hear about Jonah’s call to discipleship, and of Nineveh’s call to repentance, but we only get a small piece of this very short story, which we are all very familiar with. In the longer version of the story, Jonah was initially reluctant to go to Nineveh because of how wicked the place was, and because they were outsiders, non-Jews. With this story, the sacred writer proclaims that the message of salvation is not just for the Jews, but for all, all who are willing to repent and believe. And if the people of Nineveh could turn their hearts and repent after only one day’s preaching from Jonah, how much more should the chosen race, the chosen children of God should be willing and able to hear the call to repentance and change their ways.
In today’s Gospel from Mark, we also hear two calls, as we have and listen to two very short stories read as one. The first story is about the beginning of Jesus’s Galilean ministry, which starts after his return from the desert where he went to pray for forty days and was tempted. Much like Jonah’s ministry to Nineveh, Jesus begins his ministry with a call to Repentance. “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
The second short story is Mark’s version of the calling of the first disciples. Here we hear of how Jesus saw Simon and Andrew and called them to come after him and he would make of them fishers of men. Then walking a little further also calls James and John, and all of them abandoned their nets and followed him. A beautiful story, but not a whole lot of details. And that’s where this hymn “Pescador de Hombres” fills in the gap for me.
We are all called to repent and to be disciples, but the calling is not impersonal. No. Regardless as to how or where we hear God’s call to repentance and discipleship, it is always a very personal call. I was not able to fully see that in this Gospel from Mark until one day the words from this hymn completely sunk in and filled in the missing gaps of the story for me.
The refrain of the hymn begins with the words “Señor, me has mirado a los ojos” which in the English translation reads “O Lord, with your eyes set upon me.” Mark does not have these words in his Gospel, but that is precisely what our Lord was doing when he saw Simon, Andrew, James, and John. His eyes were gazed upon them intently, looking deep into their hearts and souls. That night on the retreat I realized that Jesus has his eyes set upon me, intently gazing into me, inviting me personally.
Next, we have the words “sonriendo has dicho mi nombre” which in English reads “gently smiling, you have spoken my name.” God knows each of us personally: He formed us in our mother’s womb, and he knows and has counted every hair on our head. He calls us personally by name. With a loving and gentle smile, gazing into our eyes, Jesus calls each of us by name.
We’ve heard the call: O Lord, with your eyes set upon me, gently smiling, you have spoken my name. Now what is our response? Do we respond energetically like Samual, with a “here I am Lord” or “speak Lord, your servant is listening”? Do we respond like Jonah; reluctantly at first, but eventually saying yes? Do we respond like Nineveh, without hesitation to repentance and mending our ways? Do we respond like Simon, Andrew, James, and John, abandoning all that is of this world to follow after him? What is our response?
Will our response be like the final words to this hymn’s refrain? “en la arena he dejado mi barca, junto a ti buscare otro mar” which in English reads “all I longed for I have found by the water, at your side, I will seek other shores.” And in a more literal translation would read “in the sand I have left my boat, next to you I will seek other shores.” Regardless as to the translation, a very personal response to recognizing what we have found, and what we must do.
Whether I hear these words in English or in Spanish, I am moved and challenged to hear and respond to the personal calls of Repentance and of Discipleship. Not once, but time and again. And so, I leave you with this…
♪♪ O Lord, with your eyes set upon me, gently smiling, you have spoken my name; all I longed for I have found by the water, at your side, I will seek other shores. ♫
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