Homily – 3rd Sunday – A – Fr Jeremiah Browne (National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies #Southafrica #Swaziland #Botswana #eswatini)
“Let me begin with a question this morning. What is your mission in life and how is your mission shaped by your relationship with Jesus?” Does Jesus make a difference in the way you live?
Mission often begins where we least expect it. Most people don’t wake up one morning with a perfectly clear sense of purpose. Our mission unfolds over time. Often it is shaped by a restlessness or an unease in our lives. It comes from listening to what is happening inside of us, and allowing God to guide and direct us.
When I was sixteen, I thought my mission in life was to be an electrician, so I joined the electricity board and worked in a power station for six years. It was good, honest work. Life seemed settled. Then I began to get a sense that something was missing. There was a restlessness that wouldn’t go away.
It wasn’t dissatisfaction with my life, but a quiet sense that there was more. So I decided to quit my job and do some travelling. I went to the USA, worked there for a while and then moved on to Australia. During that time I found myself asking deeper questions: What really matters in my life? What gives life meaning? What is my life about? Why am I here?
The more I reflected on these questions, the more I came to realise the importance of God in my life. That discovery changed everything. When I came to know, not just in my head but in my heart, that I was loved by God, a new path opened up for me. Love always calls forth a response. I knew, somehow, that I was being invited to help others discover that same love in their lives.
Today’s Gospel speaks directly to that experience. In Matthew (4:12–23), Jesus begins his public ministry in Galilee. He calls ordinary people who are busy with ordinary work. Simon and Andrew are casting their nets. James and John are mending theirs. Jesus doesn’t wait for them to be ready, to be qualified, or to be certain. He simply says, “Follow me.” Their mission begins not with a job description, they certainly didn’t know everything that it would entail, but with a relationship, a connection to Jesus that changed their lives.
“Follow me” comes before “I will make you fishers of people.” Relationship comes before mission. Mission flows from an encounter. Our mission flows from who we are with Jesus, not from what we think we should achieve in life.
Those first disciples didn’t fully understand where Jesus would lead them. They trusted enough to take the next step. And that is an important part of this Christian story. It is an important part of becoming who we are meant to be: trusting even though we don’t have all the answers. Listening to the prompting with in us.
This matters because many people feel anxious about mission. They imagine it means doing extraordinary things or having all the answers. The Gospel suggests something far simpler. The fishermen don’t stop being who they are. They bring their skills, their experience, their humanity. Jesus takes what is already there and gives it new direction.
Finding our mission in life begins with listening. It means paying attention to what gives us joy, deep joy inside of ourselves, where we feel alive, where the needs of others touch our hearts. It means noticing the holy restlessness that refuses to let us settle for a small life. God often speaks through those stirrings. Mission is discovered at the intersection of God’s love and the world’s need.
The first reading from Isaiah (8:23–9:3) reminds us that God’s mission often begins in places of darkness. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of darkness a light has shone.
Mission is not reserved for perfect moments or ideal circumstances. God works through uncertainty, weakness, and even confusion. The places in our lives that feel unsettled may be the very places where God is at work, calling us to something more.
So today, Jesus stands at the shoreline of our own lives and speaks the same simple words: “Follow me.” He speaks them into our work, our families, our doubts, our hopes, our volunteering. He speaks them into our restlessness and our longing. The call is not first to do something extraordinary, but to walk a little more closely with Jesus. When we dare to trust that we are loved by God, our lives begin to open in new and surprising ways.
Our mission becomes less about our plans and more about God’s grace at work through us, often in quiet, ordinary, faithful ways.
As we come to the Eucharist this morning, perhaps we might sit with one question in prayer: Where is Jesus inviting me to follow Him more closely at this stage of my life, and what might that invitation mean for the way that I live, the way that I love, and the way that I serve this week?
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If you would like to make a monetary donation to support the Mission of the Church you can do so on our website using the give button: https://missio-sacbc.org/donate
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Please consider praying a decade of the rosary on a daily basis for the evangelising Mission of the Church and the Pope’s intentions.
The pope’s prayer intention for January is: For Prayer With The Word Of God
Let us pray that praying with the Word of God be nourishment for our lives and a source of hope in our communities, helping us build a more fraternal and missionary Church.
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Blessed Pauline Jaricot, Pray for us. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
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