3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

 Is. 9:1-4; 1 Cor. 1:10-13, 17-18; Mt. 4:12-23

On a cold evening during the Second World War, a small village lay in darkness under a strict blackout. Inside a modest home, a frightened child noticed a single lamp glowing in the distance. “Why would someone risk lighting a lamp now?” he asked. His mother replied softly, “Because someone else needed hope more than safety.” That solitary light did not end the war, but it pierced the darkness and changed a heart forever. The Gospel today begins in a similar way—not with armies or palaces, but with a light dawning in darkness and a simple invitation spoken to ordinary people: “Follow me.”

When Jesus hears of John the Baptist’s arrest, he withdraws to Galilee. Matthew carefully notes that Jesus settles in Capernaum, in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, fulfilling Isaiah’s ancient prophecy: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” Galilee was considered insignificant. Yet it is precisely there that God’s light shines first. This tells us something essential: God’s call does not wait for ideal conditions. Jesus enters places of confusion, pain, and uncertainty.

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

 Is. 49:3, 5-6; 1 Cor. 1:1-3; Jn. 1:29-34

One evening, a young boy was walking home from school when he noticed smoke rising from a nearby house. Without thinking twice, he ran toward the fire and shouted for help. Neighbors rushed out, and together they managed to rescue an elderly woman trapped inside. When reporters later asked the boy why he ran toward danger instead of away from it, he simply said, “I saw someone who needed help.” The boy did not seek praise. He only pointed to the need.

This simple story reminds us of John the Baptist. He did not seek attention for himself. Instead, he pointed away from himself and toward Jesus, saying, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John’s life teaches us that true greatness lies not in being seen, but in helping others see Christ.

The Baptism of the Lord (A)

Is. 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Mt. 3:13-17

In one of Leo Tolstoy’s short stories, on a cold winter night a poor shoemaker named Martin Avdeitch sits alone in his basement room, reading the Gospel by the light of a small lamp. He is weary with grief and disappointment, yet as he reads the words of Jesus, a quiet hope stirs in his heart. That night he dreams that Christ will come to visit him the next day. Martin waits eagerly. Throughout the day, instead of a glorious vision, he encounters ordinary people: a tired street sweeper, a poor woman with a hungry child, a young boy who has stolen an apple. Martin feeds them, comforts them, forgives them. At the end of the day, he feels disappointed that Jesus never came—until he hears a voice saying, “I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.” Martin realizes that Christ had indeed visited him, hidden in the lives of ordinary people. Tolstoy’s story gently reminds us that God’s glory often appears not in spectacle alone, but in humility, obedience, and loving service. This is precisely how the mystery of the Baptism of Jesus unfolds before us today.