3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B. By Tobe Eze

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B.

FIRST READING
Jonah 3:1—5, 10

SECOND READING
1 Corinthians 7:29—31

GOSPEL
Mark 1:14—20

THEME: WE CAN STILL LEAVE THEM.

A man entered a local hotel, he asked the people serving to serve him swallow (foo foo). They asked him the type of soup he will like to take. He threw back question of what type of soup do they have. They mentioned all they had and he told them to give him small ogbono, small egusi, small oha, small nsala and so on. He was asked to choose one among all of them and he said, “I cannot leave any of them”. Why this story? We sometimes behave like this man in many ways and may things we do here on earth. Continue Reading.......................

The first reading which is taken from the prophet Jonah gave us the story of how the people of Nineveh left many things in their ways of life because of Jonah’s prophecy. They became afraid and changed their lives immediately. We have been hearing the word of God since our childhood but to what effect? We neither fear God nor regard man.

The second reading which is taken from the letter of St. Paul to the Church in Corinth and the Corinth of today is us here. We should leave that our normal way of life and adopt another which is better for there is no time to waste.

The Gospel is a practical example or a blueprint or a yardstick on how to leave the first position to embrace another. The first two were mending their nets and he asked them to follow him and they left everything and followed him, the second two were with their father in the same job and they left all and followed him. You have to leave all and follow our Lord Jesus Christ in this passing world to get the everlasting world.

A certain family had only one daughter. The girl grew up with all her beauty. Her parents loved her so much to the extent that they did not want her to leave them to go to any far place and stay for sometimes. The love was more from the father. To cut it short. When the girl was of age, many men came, seeking her hand in marriage but her father will always give her reasons not to accept them. The girl latter found a boy she loved so we in her school and brought her home to show the parents but they were not happy about it. After considering many things, they accepted her to get married. After everything, the father was calling her on phone on daily bases, inviting her home on weekly bases. The husband was not comfortable with that and complained. When they gathered for them to resolve every problem. The man told they that the husband of his daughter cannot take his daughter away from him. Then the boy retorted, “Are you marring her or am I marring her? The people there told the man, you must let go of .many things for you to enjoy your daughter in the rest of your life. That was when he came back to his senses like a man.

We must let go of many things in our lives to enjoy. We must let go our pleasures, our sins and many other ways we behave that are not godly to follow Christ. The only time we have to leave that our bad position is now, that our bad behaviors, it is now that we have to leave them and go back to God. Those we do in our working palace, we can leave them. Those cheatings we do in our area of business, we can leave them, that promiscuous life we are living, we can leave them, that lying, we can leave it, that stealing, we can leave it, that killing, we can leave it and many other places we sin, we can leave them all. Just like the people of Nineveh the Lord will turn to bless us instead of punishing us, just forget how long we have been into it and adopt what St. Paul said and we shall be saved. It is all about leaving all that are disturbing us in our relationship with God. “If your eyes will make you to sin, pluck it out…………..(Mark 9:47)”. “What will separate us from the love of God……..(Romans 8:31-39)”. IN ALL WE CAN STILL LEAVE THEM. HAPPY SUNDAY.