FIRST READING: Isaiah 8:23--9:3. In the former time God brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased its joy; they rejoice before thee as with joy at the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken as on the day of Midian. EXPLANATION: This reading for today's Mass is another prophecy, concerning the messianic days, given by Isaiah in the eighth century B.C. It describes the new era of liberty and joy, which the future Messiah will usher in. Galilee, the northeastern corner of Palestine, had been populated for the most part by pagan Assyrian settlers, who had been brought in there after the fall of the northern kingdom (Israel) in 722. Paganism had control, and the few Chosen People, thinly scattered in the region, found it difficult to retain their faith in the true God, and more difficult still, to practice it. All that will be changed, the prophet says. Zebulun and Naphtali: These were two of the 12 Tribes who settled in the region of Galilee after the Exodus from Egypt (Jos. 29: 21-39).
brought into contempt: In other words, disappeared practically after the Assyrian invasion.
way of the sea: The route from the East (Syria, Assyria and Babylon) to Egypt passed through Galilee. and then down by the Mediterranean coast.
God . . . glorious: "In the latter time," that is, in the messianic days, the new era as opposed to the old, Galilee will play a great part. It was there that Christ spent most of his public life, and from there, eleven of his twelve Apostles came (see Mt. 4: 12-16 in today's gospel, where he considered this prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled when Jesus began to preach in Galilee).
darkness . . . light: The darkness of paganism and slavery will be changed into the bright noon-day light of Christianity and real freedom.
multiplied . . . joy: Numerous believers in the true God will inhabit this territory, and serve him with joy in the great era that is to come.
joy . . . spoil: Their joy, because of their real liberation, is compared to that of the farmer when he collects an abundant harvest, or a conquering army dividing the spoils of a victorious battle.
yoke . . . rod: All the instruments and symbols of the oppressor will be removed.
as on . . . Midian: That future day will be a day of victory, like the day Gideon defeated the Midianites, one of the greatest victories of the period of the Judges (Jgs. 7:16-25). APPLICATION: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." Before the coming of Christ 98 per cent of the human race lived in the darkness and hopelessness of paganism. They knew nothing of the good God who made them; they knew nothing of their real purpose in this life, and did not know that there was a future life to look forward to. The two percent, or less, of Jews had a knowledge of the true God. But it was a limited knowledge and their service of him was motivated by fear rather than by love. Their belief in a future, endless life was weak in the best of them, and was not accepted at all by many. The Incarnation has changed all that. The darkness of paganism, and ignorance of the true nature of the God who created us, has been banished forever by the coming of the Son of God among us as man. From it we have learned not only that God loves us, and that he is interested in every one of us, but that he loves us with an infinite, unlimited love, and wants each one of us to share in his own eternal kingdom of happiness forever. For this reason he has raised us up to adopted sonship, through the Incarnation in which his real Son took on himself our lowly created nature and became our brother. This was God's plan for mankind for all eternity. Sin had entered the world of men in the meantime. Man became so proud of the gifts he possessed, that he forgot the giver of those gifts, and not only refused to thank his benefactor, but turned against him and made for himself false gods. This, however, did not change God's plan nor his infinite love for man. Christ, the son of God in our human nature, was the representative of all men. He gave perfect obedience to his heavenly Father in the name of us all. Because he was God, as well as man, he made a perfect atonement for the sins of all men, of all time. No mere human being could ever have done this. We, Christians today, are walking in the full light of the knowledge of God's infinite love for us, of God's eternal plan for our unending happiness, of the almost incredible mystery of that divine love for us sinners, which was shown in the Incarnation. If an earthly king should leave his palace, and go among his peasants, and dress and live like one of them, in order to educate them and clothe them in royal robes, and then bring them to his palace to live with him as his adopted children, what an amazing act of benevolence and love this would be. Yet, the Creator of all things, the King of the universe, did this and more for us. Does anyone among us really appreciate what God has done for him? Does he realize what the privilege of being a Christian means? Does he ever thank God sufficiently for the benefits he has conferred on him? We have all seen the great light which expelled all darkness. We are living under its heavenly illumination. But are we all benefiting from that light as we should? Will it lead us to the eternal, everlasting light---the purpose for which it was given to us? This is a question each one of us must ask himself today, and the future fate of every one of us will depend on the answer we can honestly give to this question.
SECOND READING: 1 Cor. 1: 10-13; 17. I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgement. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. EXPLANATION: St. Paul not only preached the gospel, and set up Christian communities in the principal towns of the Roman Empire, but he kept a life-long interest in their spiritual welfare. He revisited the principal churches which he had founded, and if he could not do so, he kept himself informed of their progress, and wrote letters to them to praise them, or correct them, if things were not as they should have been. The section of one of these letters, which we read today, is an example of such a correction.
I appeal . . . Lord: Paul calls them his brothers, and begs them to be truly brothers to one another, to preserve unity among themselves. This appeal is not just the wish of Paul, but it is Christ's commandment, who put loving neighbor as oneself next to the command to love God (Mt. 22:36). Hence it is in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that he makes this appeal.
it has . . . me: See how he kept in touch with his converts!
I belong . . . Christ: Some divisions, or factions, began to be set up in the church of Corinth since he had left them. These were, most likely, caused by the arrival of some converts from outside. Apollos, an Alexandrian Jewish convert, was an eloquent preacher and some may have thought him a greater apostle than Paul, even though he was not an apostle. Others preferred their first teacher, Paul. Jewish converts from Palestine who would have been converted by Peter (Cephas=the Rock, the head and fountain of the Church), were all for Peter, while some declared that their loyalty was to Christ, rather than to any of his messengers.
Is Christ divided?: All are brothers of Christ and in Christ. Christ wishes all to be one, as does Paul.
Paul crucified: It was Christ who died for them. It was Christ who made them members of his body, the Church, through baptism. Paul did no more than bring this good news to them.
not send . . . baptize: Evidently, Paul's whole time was spent teaching the faith to the people. His helpers baptized those whom he had prepared to become members of Christ's mystical body---the Church.
not eloquent . . . power: It was not by human persuasion, or human eloquence, that Paul converted the people---this was done by the power of Christ. The people were convinced that God loved them, and that he had proved that love by sending his divine Son to live among them and die on the cross for them. APPLICATION: Human nature has changed little through all the centuries. When it has, it has often been a change for the worse not for the better. In today's lesson, we are a bit shocked to hear that the first generation of Christians were beginning to form factions and divisions in the church of Corinth. Three years had barely passed since they had dedicated their lives to Christ, their one ambition and desire being to follow Christ on the road to heaven. Now, already, personal pride was entering in. Some were looking down on others, because it was the great Paul who instructed and converted them. The others resisted this, and claimed a greater superiority, because they had a more eloquent teacher, Apollos of Alexandria, while others, again, began to despise both of these parties, because they were instructed by the head of the Apostles, the Rock, Peter. How silly it may seem to us! What does it matter who taught them, if they have learned the truth about Christ and God's great love, for them? To St. Paul it did not seem silly, but very dangerous, because it showed that human pride, the basic sin, and the first sin of human nature, was beginning to revive once more among them. This letter of St. Paul, recalling to their minds who their true master and teacher was, very likely put an end to this trouble in Corinth, but it did not banish foolish pride from among men, nor worse still from among Christians who profess to be followers of the humble Christ. Do we need examples to show the dreadful damage that pride has inflicted on the Church of Christ? The long-standing divisions and separated sects in the Church---a scandal to the followers of Christ and an impediment to the conversion of unbelievers---are the direct result of the actions of proud men. It is not necessary here to apportion blame---Paul did not when reproving the divisions in Corinth---but what is necessary is that all Christians should take to heart Paul's reminder that it was Christ who died for us all and that Christ is not and must not be divided. Thank God, and thanks to the saintly Pope John, Christians are today taking active steps to reunite the Church of Christ once more, to bring together once again the separated members of Christ's mystical body. The Roman soldiers nailed his human body to the cross. We, his professed lovers and followers, have torn his mystical body apart. We have been more cruel to him than the ignorant pagan soldiers. In this essential and urgent work of reunion each one of us, even the humblest and least educated, can play an important part. First, by fervent prayer that God will give all Christians, ourselves included, the grace to come together in true love of God, and true love of our Christian neighbor, no matter what his interpretation or even misrepresentation of Christ's teaching may have hitherto been. Secondly, by showing in our daily actions that we recognize all men, not alone Christians, as our brothers. We have all been raised to sonship with God, we have all been redeemed by Christ. We must, if we love God and appreciate what God has done for the human race, want all men to avail themselves of this marvelous supernatural gift that he has intended for them. The most effective and convincing way, in which we can prove our true concern for the eternal welfare of all our fellowman, is by living a true Christian life ourselves. If we have burning within us the fire of God's love, its heat will spread and warm the hearts and minds of all those with whom we come in contact. The leaders and theologians of all the Christian bodies will have their very important part to play in this sincere attempt at reunifying the Church of Christ. But unless we, ordinary Christians, bring down the fire of God's love on earth, by our prayers and good works, their task will be ever so difficult, if not nearly impossible. We'll begin to put our own Christian faith into daily and hourly practice and start to storm heaven for the success of this most necessary endeavor. God will not be deaf to the requests in word and deed that come from his humble servants.
GOSPEL: Matt. 4: 12-23. When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles---the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogs and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. EXPLANATION: The Baptist's mission, of proximate preparation for the Messiah, ended when John was arrested by Herod, because he had publicly denounced the king's adulterous association with his brother's wife. Jesus then began his own mission, and moved from near the Jordan in Judea up to Galilee. He continued John's call to repentance, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He chose his first four disciples near Capernaum and worked many miracles around Galilee. In this missionary activity of Jesus in Galilee, Matthew sees fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, given over 700 years before. True freedom, and the true light of faith, have come to that once oppressed region.
leaving Nazareth: From the Jordan, Jesus went to Nazareth and remained there for a short while. The wedding feast at Cana, near Nazareth, described by John (2: 1-12), and the preaching of Christ in the synagog of Nazareth, which resulted in his rejection as described by Luke (4: 16-30), can be fitted in here. Matthew and Mark do not mention these events, but both of them mention a visit of our Lord to Nazareth later.
Capernaum: A small town on the northern shore of Lake Genesareth. It was the home-town of Peter and Andrew and, probably for that reason, it became Christ's base or second home-town during his missionary journeys around Galilee and the neighboring districts.
Zebulun . . . dawned: On the prophecy of Isaiah which Matthew now sees fulfilled, see today's first reading.
Simon . . . Peter: Simon, son of Jonah, was the original name. This name was replaced by Peter (Cephas in Aramaic, which means a rock, which in turn became Petros in Greek, the masculine form of petra), when Christ appointed him the foundation and head of the Church (Mt. 16:18): "Thou art Rock and on this rock I will build my Church."
Andrew . . . James . . . John: Peter and Andrew were blood brothers, so were James and John. All four earned their livelihood fishing in the Lake of Genesareth, a good source of living at that time.
Immediately . . . father: All four had listened to the Baptist's preaching, and were probably disciples of John. But on hearing John's declarations, and having probably heard the words from heaven, they left John and followed Jesus of their own accord. The three synoptic Gospels do not mention this voluntary following of Jesus by the first disciples, but all three mention this official call to the apostolate. This official call does not deny the earlier, personal attraction toward, and belief in, Jesus as the Messiah which they had received through the Baptist.
teaching . . . synagog: The Jews attended their synagog in large numbers on the Sabbath day. This was a suitable occasion for Christ to meet them and explain his message in person to them.
gospel . . . kingdom: The messianic kingdom, or new era in the relationship between God and men. It is also called the kingdom of heaven for, though it would begin on earth, its culmination and perfection would be in heaven.
healing . . . disease: These were acts of compassion and mercy, rather than proofs of his claims. However, he did occasionally work miracles to prove his divine claims (see the case of the paralytic and the power to forgive sins---Lk. 5: 17-25). APPLICATION: The true freedom, and the true light which Christ brought to Galilee nearly 2,000 years ago, were brought on earth for us too. The Christian faith, and the Christian knowledge of God's love for us and his infinite interest in our real welfare, are his gift to us and to all men of goodwill, who will accept it. Thanks be to God for this marvelous gift of faith, which frees us from the slavery of paganism and sin, and lights the road to heaven for us, amidst the darkness and drudgery of this life. The lot of the insensitive tree in the forest, and of the dumb beast of the field, would be far and away a better one than the lot of rational man, who knew neither God nor any plan that God had for him. Man with his superior gifts, which raise him above all the other earthly creatures, can experience and enjoy happiness and well-being. The joy of living, the gift of life, is the greatest source and the basis of all his other earthly joys. His short life on earth may be frequently interspersed with troubles and trials, aches and pains, yet to stay alive is so innate a desire, and so strong a determination, that the common opinion of men is that it is only a mentally deranged person who can commit suicide. But there is a shadow, the shadow of death, over the very greatest of our earthly pleasures. Through our gift of intellect, and the experience of our race, we all know that life on this earth has to end, and no matter how many more years we may think we still have left to us, death will be too soon, far too soon, when it comes. The neo-pagan (the real pagans, who have not heard of the true God, have some god or gods in whom they hope and trust) will do all in his power to forget this dreadful thought of death, but he is reminded of it everyday of his earthly life. To live with this thought that all he shall be in eighty years' time is a bucket of lifeless and useless dust, must be an anticipation of the hell he may also have to face after his death. We love life, we too want to live on, we too know that this cannot be on this earth, but thanks to the merciful revelation given us in our faith, we know that the infinite love of God has prepared a future life for us. We know that Christ, by his life and death as man among us, has made us adopted sons of God. We know we have an eternal life awaiting us, when we depart from this life, and that for the Christian who did his best to be a true follower and disciple of Christ, death is not the end but the beginning of our real life. The grave is not our goal forever, but the key which opens the door to eternal life and eternal happiness for us. With this divine knowledge revealed to us by and through Christ, everything falls into place in our earthly sojourn. We have our joys and our sorrows, our births and our burials, but we know, with the certainty of God's word, that these are but sign-posts that mark our stages toward, and direct our steps to, our eternal home. We are superior to the tree of the forest therefore, and to the beast of the field, not only because of our earthly gifts of intelligence and will, but because we know that our end on earth will not be like theirs. It will be, instead, the great awakening to a joy and happiness of which, at present, we can only form a very limited and vague idea. We Christians have indeed seen a great, a heaven-sent light.-a078
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