(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: https://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mass-Blog-for-the-3rd-Sunday-in-Ordinary-Time-2026.mp3)
Jesus came to wake humanity out of sin’s darkness and meet a new day. This wake-up call has echoed through the centuries, starting with Christ’s beckoning his first disciples, which we recall this Sunday.
Simon Peter and his brother Andrew are going about their day, as usual, casting their nets into the sea so they can feed their families. Suddenly a stranger approaches, invading their routine, and says:
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)
Matthew tells us they immediately left their nets and followed him. Same with James and his brother John, who were sitting in a boat, mending their nets. Jesus called them to follow and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.
That call was a powerful alarm clock. Jesus roused these men out of their sleepy routines to the Divine plan that would bring about the permanent dawn anticipated by the prophets.
The Son rose at the turn of his earthly life’s third decade. Like Divine clockwork, Jesus left Nazareth for the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, so Isaiah’s prophecy might be fulfilled:
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone.” (Isaiah 8:23—9:3)
The great commissioning of his disciples led to the global spread of Christendom. But as Mary Ann Glendon, former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, told the Knights of Columbus at their annual States Dinner last year, OUR calling is as consequential as the simple “follow me” aimed at those few fishermen. She implied, though, that the world’s Catholic laity have fallen back asleep under the similarly simple but otherwise empty mantra of “pray, pay and obey.”
Christ’s “follow me” has infinitely broader expectations designed to wake that “sleeping giant.” That’s the name Pope John Paul II gave the laity of our Church during his era.
Could they have been put to sleep by low expectations?
“We weren’t ready for the end of a society whose economic, political and social life was permeated to a great extent by Christian principles,” Glendon told the Knights. “So it really was time for the laity to wake up.”
Driving in automatic is so easy, it can put a driver to sleep if they’re not careful.
Our role as church drivers was spelled out by St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, from which we read this Sunday (1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17). He called for an end to the divisions that make it so easy for us to keep falling back to sleep, expecting others to stay our course.
“I urge you, brothers and sisters,” he says, “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.”
Our purpose is to dispel the world’s darkness and anguish by reflecting the great light that called the original disciples to duty. Their commission becomes our mission at baptism, as Glendon reminded the Knights. What happens on the pro-life and religious freedom fronts will depend on the driving skills of laypeople of many talents and professions.
“Building the civilization of life and love is first and foremost a matter of reaching hearts and minds,” she concluded.
Sounds complicated, but it’s as simple as Jesus’ original two-word wake-up call: “Follow me.”
Are we awake at the wheel?
–Tom Andel
This is great timing as we enter a new year and resolutions are being made (and maybe broken already, haha). Your writing makes me reflect on my own priorities. In a world of never-ending demands, how do we keep the main thing the main thing? Do we answer His call every day? How do we lead our days and ultimately our lives making sure that Christ is with us? Thank you for the reminder to calibrate our minds, bodies and souls to this Holy calling!
Starting the day with a prayer asking for Christ’s companionship is the best way to ensure it happens–as you know better than many, Mike. But that companionship is really our following HIM as we inspire others to follow us via the guidance of the gospels.
What a deep reflection—have we become complacent in our routines? The soon-to-be disciples had likely heard, or heard of, Jesus teaching before, perhaps as part of a crowd; but it took a personal invitation to break through the familiarity of their days. Or perhaps their fishing had been going poorly enough that they sensed, however dimly, that it was time for something more. Either way, Christ’s call disrupted routine and demanded trust. That same question lingers for us: are we merely hearing the message again, or are we allowing it to personally summon us out of comfortable patterns and into deeper discipleship?
Yes, George, Christ’s call requires a response of some kind. An affirmative response requires both trust and courage–especially when the world’s routines can put us into such a comfortable spiritual coma. The invitation “Follow Me” gets easier to accept with each step we take farther from our deathbed.
We all get the same wake up call and have for much of our lives. There is no question that following Jesus Christ is the central and essential purpose of our lives, yet why for the most part do we not heed this calling?
It’s not like we are unique in this reality. I for one am often distracted and at time ridiculously negligent of the singular purpose of my life – follow Jesus Christ!
Thank God (we need to oh so often) that he is a patient God, a God of second and third and ten thousand and one second chances. And when we fall and get dirty, he offers us a chance to clean ourselves up repeatedly in the sacrament of reconciliation. He is so good and he doesn’t set a bar we can’t clear. He is fair and gives us all kinds of support – daily.
One basic directive and mission assignment, follow Jesus Christ!
We’ve cheapened the act of following. There’s something artificial about it. Today we can “commit” to following someone by pushing a button on our smart device and letting someone’s past come flooding into our consciousness. In the case of Christ’s disciples, Christ’s past, present and future became theirs and following him became as natural as day following night. That’s the purpose of the Gospels: to bring light into our dark world. But we must commit ourselves to reflecting that light for those who’ve grown accustomed to darkness.
This reflection has led me to think about my behavior during times of prayer; especially at Mass. It is important to be mindful of who we are talking to every time we address the Lord by name. It can be so easy to recite prayers without realizing we are even speaking but if you really think about it, the God of the universe is allowing us to speak to Him directly. Perhaps we take it for granted because everyone is provided with this privilege. It is not as if we are among a select few who have an opportunity to visit with king of England. We can address God by name whenever we want to. However, if we have enough humility, hopefully we can remember that God does need us to cultivate a relationship with Him. It is a privilege that He gives us. We should take care to approach God with a high level of respect every time we speak to Him. I can recall times when I was a child where I spoke to my parents as if they were at my level. Sometimes my parents would brush it off without punishment. Perhaps I got off the hook, but it was still inappropriate. If God is our Father, we ought to be regularly mindful of our demeanor towards Him when we are speaking to Him and even when we are praying the recited prayers of the Mass.
Sometimes we need to change our surroundings to upgrade our demeanor. Regular appointments in any adoration chapel built around the Blessed Sacrament can work miracles where that’s concerned.