HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

Jan 25, 2026

701

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Prophet Isaiah (8:23-9:3)

First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the end He has glorified the seaward road, the land West of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as people make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (27:1, 4, 13-14)

(R) The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life's refuge; of whom should I be afraid? (R)

One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate His temple. (R)

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1:10-13, 17)

I urge you, brothers and sisters, 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. For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by Chole's people, that there are rivalries among you. I mean that each of you is saying, "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? For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (4:12-23)

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen." From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter; and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make your fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the Son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

There was a dark cave, deep down in the ground, underneath the earth and hidden away from view. The cave had never seen light. The word "light" meant nothing to the cave. It couldn't imagine what "light" might be. Then one day, the sun sent an invitation to the cave, inviting it to come up and visit. When the cave came up to visit the sun it was amazed and delighted, because the cave had never seen light before, and it was dazzled by the wonder of the experience. Feeling so grateful to the sun for the experience, the cave wanted to return the kindness, and so it invited the sun to come down to visit it sometime, because the sun had never seen darkness. So, one day the sun entered the cave and looked around with great interest, wondering what "darkness" would be like. Then it became puzzled, and asked the cave, "Where is darkness?" (Source Unknown)

This story teaches us that when light appears, darkness disappears immediately. Today's first reading, Isaiah (8:23-9:3), and the gospel, Matthew (4:12-23), speak of the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. Although these two names are obscure, they have a very important message to all believers in Christ. In the Old Testament time, these two lands were part of the northern region of Israel, named after the descendants of two of Jacob's sons, Zebulun and Naphtali, Genesis (35:23-26). Jacob was the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham and, he was renamed "Israel" by God after wrestling with a divine being all night. Seven hundred years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah described that these two lands were "in deep darkness and misery", Isaiah (9:1-2). This was true for many reasons.

To begin with, right from the start these two lands never totally belonged to these two tribes. Joshua, the man who led the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses' death, had allotted these lands to the two tribes but they failed to fully conquer it. Whenever they were strong, they subjected the inhabitants of the lands, namely the Canaanites, but were never able to drive them out completely, Judges (1:27-36).

Furthermore, Solomon, succeeding King Saul and King David as the third and the last king of the unified nation of Israel (965-926 BC) had ushered in peace and prosperity to Israel and who had also built the first Temple in Jerusalem, treated the descendants of Zebulun and Naphtali as second-class citizens, even though they sent their food and sons and daughters to wait on Solomon for one month of the year. Solomon, in fact, simply gave away the territories of these two tribes to the pagan King Haram of Tyre as payment for the cedar and cypress timber as well as gold he received for his building projects, 1 Kings (9:11). It was extremely hurtful to the two tribes and was seen as a dark time of rejection to them.

Besides this, the people of these two lands grew up with the violent, terrifying darkness of war as a regular part of their lives. Being at the border made them a target for invading enemies, causing all kinds of destruction and death.

In addition, these lands were far away from the cultural and religious centres of Jerusalem and Judea, which were considered important. And so, people had to walk for perhaps 4 to 5 days about 100 km, from this region to Jerusalem to participate in festivities and ritual worship. For instance, the Gospels speak of Joseph and Mary travelling from Nazareth to the city of Joseph's birth, the city of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem shortly before the birth of Jesus ,Luke (2:4-7) and later of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, together with some friends and relatives, journeying every year to Jerusalem for the religious festival known as the Passover, Luke (2:41-52).

Lastly but not least, initially these lands were mainly occupied by the Jews but after Assyria's conquest, people from other nations came and settled there, 2 Kings (17:24) and their religious and cultural practices often led to spiritual and moral decay among the Israelites. Thus, throughout their history, these two tribes were living in fear and suffering, in deep spiritual darkness, separated from God by sin and ignorance. In this dark situation, Isaiah predicted an end to the gloom these people suffered. He saw that one day a great light would shine on them.

These lands were later known as Galilee, which in Hebrew means "district." It included Cana, Capernaum, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Nain, Tiberias, and Nazareth, and was predominantly inhabited by Gentiles. To add insult to injury, by the time of Jesus, the people of Zebulun and Naphtali were looked down on. For example, when Philip, a disciple of Jesus, told his good friend Nathaniel that he had found the Messiah whom Moses and other prophets wrote about and that He was Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth, Nathaniel's response was less than enthusiastic; he skeptically asked, "Nazareth! Can anything good come out from there?", John (1:45). So, Zebulun and Naphtali had a long history of rejection, humiliation, pain, suffering and distress. And that is why Jesus deliberately chose to make Capernaum as his temporary home and the centre of His ministry.

Today's gospel says, "He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen", Matthew (4:13-16).

The lands which were considered insignificant for centuries; the inhabitants that no one wanted to be associated with were honoured with the coming of Jesus. Jesus went and lived among the people who had suffered so much. He travelled through all the villages and towns in the region, preaching and healing the sick, including the lepers, the lame, the paralyzed, the blind, and the possessed. He showed mercy and compassion towards sinners and outcasts. He demonstrated His divine power by doing things people could not do such as turning water into wine, walking on water, calming the storm, causing miraculous catches of fish, multiplying loaves of bread and fish to feed the crowds, etc. He offered life, grace, and spiritual awakening to those who were lost in the darkness. Thus, Jesus was indeed a manifestation of "the great light" to the people of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Just as Isaiah had promised, the people who were once despised and subjected to great pain and misery, were the first to see the light of Christ and witness the start of the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel and all nations of the world.

What is the message for us?

There are times in our lives we all feel darkness encroaching upon us. Darkness may come in many forms. Darkness may plague us in the form of worry, anxiety, fear, doubt, confusion, illness, grief, failure, and bitterness. Darkness may fall upon us when we allow negative emotions, such as greed, anger, jealousy and hate, engulf us. Darkness may wrap around us when people we love are unable or unwilling to understand us. Darkness may surround us when there is a sense of emptiness in our lives. And finally, darkness may also come because of our own choices - when we walk away from God or when we remove God from our lives and depend solely on our efforts, knowledge and abilities.
But today's readings teach us that God's light is more real than all the darkness we experience, that this light has a name, "Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and always", and that He is not limited to a specific group but is available to all. John, the disciple of Jesus, records John the Baptist testifying that Jesus is the "true light who came into the world", John (1:6-9). Later, Jesus identified Himself as the "light of the world", asserting his indispensable role as the source of spiritual truth, guidance, and salvation, John (8:12).
Yes, indeed, as God's light, Jesus can remove the scales of blindness from our eyes. He can reveal what is true, expose what is harmful, and show us the way forward. He can enable us to see life as it is. He can illuminate our decisions, helping us to choose paths that align with God's will. He can lead us out of the darkness and into the light of life. He can bring hope and provide comfort and strength in hard times. He can bring healing and remedy when we are lost and hurting. He can help us overcome anything that keeps us from being who He made us to be - people who reflect true justice and light to the world. He can calm our fears and bring lasting peace.

Therefore, trusting in God's revelation, Jesus' assurance and John's testimony, let us continue to seek Jesus, the Light, every day with our whole heart, regardless of the circumstances we face.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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