On September 30, 2019, Pope Francis asked that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time become the “Sunday of the Word of God.” He said, “The Bible is the book of the Lord’s people, who, in listening to it, move from dispersion and division towards unity. The word of God unites believers and makes them one people.” He reminds us that the Second Vatican Council encouraged Catholics to read and study Scripture, and it added more Scripture to the Lectionary for Mass.
Before Vatican II, Sunday readings were the same every year with an Epistle (Letter), Gradual (Psalm), and Gospel. Now we have added another reading, from the Old Testament or the Acts of the Apostles, and we have a three-year cycle of readings. The daily Lectionary has a two-year cycle of readings. These additional readings show that the Church wants to increase our opportunities to be inspired by the Word of God.
You can find Francis’ Apostolic Letter, “Aperuit Illis,” online. It is an easy read and includes more of his reasons for setting aside a day to celebrate and study God’s Word. He wants the Bible to be accessible for us, to be proclaimed well in the liturgy and unpacked in the homily, and to be a living Word we can use and apply in our daily lives.
How easy it is to go about our merry lives without wondering what part we may play in God’s plan. How easy to compartmentalize our lives – here’s my hour for God on Sunday (or Saturday night) when I’ll think a little about “faith-stuff,” and then here’s the rest of my “real life” the other 167 hours of the week. We need to grow in familiarity with Scripture to learn what it means to follow Christ.
Jesus calls his first four apostles in today’s gospel. Peter and his brother Andrew leave their nets “at once” and follow him. James and his brother John “immediately” leave their boat and their father and follow him. What kind of person or cause would I rush to follow into an unknown future leaving behind my work and my family? We are all called to follow Jesus in every aspect of our lives. We need to pray to hear that call, to understand what we are being called to do and to be, and to have the courage to answer the call as we are able. Knowledge of Scripture helps us learn discernment.