25 January 2026

25 January 2026 - Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

Transcript

Before I begin:

There have been some email scams using my name. It is requesting a purchase of gift cards. I will NEVER – repeat: NEVER request anyone to purchase gift cards for any reason. If you receive an email along this line, it is a scam. We have had at least one parishioner who did not double-check that. So far they have not been hurt, because they delivered the gift cards directly to me. Now we need to see if the company will reimburse so that this parishioner is not out any money.

PLEASE do not make the mistake. If you think an email comes from me that is asking you to do something like this: call me. Do not assume it is legitimate. Never assume it is legitimate. Thank you for your attention to this, and be safe against the scammers.

Reading:  

Matthew 4:15-16

Write:  

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.

Reflect:   

Have you ever heard of the “Golan Heights?” If I have this right, it was the ancestral land of two of the tribes of Israel called Zebulun and Naphtali. In our own modern history, it was a focal point for the Six-Day War of nineteen sixty-seven. Israel took over the area and many years later annexed it because of the risk of leaving it in Syria’s hands.

What were the risks? The Golan Heights, in part, forms the eastern border of the Sea of Galilee. It is a sheer cliff with only a small section of usable land on the border of the sea. Because it is on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, the land at the foot of the cliff does not get the early morning sun. In fact it does not get direct sunlight until about noon.

This is the idea of the people sitting in darkness. It is not really darkness but it is also not direct sunlight for the first half the day. Isaiah saw this as a metaphor for the condition of the nation of Israel. Yes, they had light, but it was not direct – they did not accept the position God had given them as his people; nor did they accept who God wanted to be for them. They were not walking in the holiness that God had desired from them. Thus, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali went into a captivity before anybody else of the nation did. Isaiah saw that as a warning to them. But they did not listen. But… After humiliation and exile for the whole nation, God restored them anyhow! That is how faithful God is.

Apply:   

I think this is what both Isaiah and Matthew are focusing on. Isaiah says, “You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing…” This is who Jesus is: he is the light in the darkness; he is the MorningStar; look at the first stanza of the responsorial Psalm today, “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?”

Now, what is this light in the darkness? It is what Jesus was preaching: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

It is the consistent refrain of all of Christianity. We can only walk in the light of God if we repent. It is then that we will see the light of God shining on us – heaven will be at hand.

This is the major call of Lent. We are not that far from its start. Lent needs to be a time when we open our eyes to the light of Christ. Sin forces us to squeeze our eyes shut so that we cannot see the light of Christ. You know that it is painful to go from a dark room into light. We “moderns” with our electricity know what it’s like to go from a dark room into light. We squint at the pain of the light. But we rapidly adjust.

Lent needs to be a time when we open our eyes to the light of Christ. We are not a people called to live in darkness or gloom. A light has shown – that light is Jesus. A light that sets the captives free, throws open the prison doors, destroys sin – in a word, he sets us free.

How does Isaiah’s reading end this weekend? “For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed…” So much for sin and its power.

+++++