Light, Unity, Purpose

Homily for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s readings form a powerful constellation, and they speak beautifully to a single, urgent theme: God brings light where we expect darkness, unity where we expect division, and purpose where we expect aimlessness.

There’s a line in Isaiah today that feels almost like a sigh of relief: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” It’s a promise spoken to a people who felt forgotten, overshadowed, and defeated. Zebulun and Naphtali were borderlands — places invaded first, abandoned first, and remembered last. Yet Isaiah says: That is exactly where God’s light will shine first.

Matthew picks up that prophecy and says: Look — it’s happening. Jesus begins His ministry not in Jerusalem, not in the center of power, but in Galilee — the margins, the overlooked, the ordinary. The light doesn’t wait for perfect conditions. It shines where it’s needed most. Jesus walks along the shore and calls fishermen — not scholars, not elites, not the spiritually polished. Ordinary people doing ordinary work. And He says: “Follow me.” Not because they are perfect, but because they are willing.

This is the pattern of God: Light in the darkness - Hope in the margins - Calling in the ordinary

If you feel like you’re living in a “Zebulun and Naphtali” moment — overlooked, tired, uncertain — Scripture is saying: That’s exactly where Christ begins His work.

In Corinth, the community is splitting into factions — “I belong to Paul,” “I belong to Apollos,” “I belong to Cephas.” Paul cuts through all of it with a single question: “Is Christ divided?”

Division is always a sign of the darkness creeping in. Unity is always a sign of Christ’s presence. Paul isn’t asking them to agree on everything. He’s asking them to remember the One who called them, the One who saved them, the One who is the center. When Christ is at the center, unity becomes possible. When anything else is at the center — ego, preference, personality — division grows.

Matthew tells us that Peter, Andrew, James, and John “immediately” left their nets. They didn’t have all the answers. They didn’t know where the road would lead. But they trusted the One who called them. Following Jesus always involves leaving something behind: a fear, a habit, a resentment, a division, or a comfort zone. The light of Christ doesn’t just comfort us — it moves us.

In the responsorial psalm, we prayed: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?” This is the voice of someone who has learned to trust the light more than the darkness. “One thing I ask… to dwell in the house of the Lord.” This is the voice of someone who knows that the presence of God is not a place but a relationship. “I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord.” This is the voice of someone who expects God to act. “Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.” This is the voice of someone who knows discipleship is a journey.

Isaiah promises light. The Psalmist trusts the light. Paul urges unity in the light. Jesus is the light — and He calls us to walk with Him. So, the question for us today is simple but demanding: Where is Christ calling you to follow Him more closely? Where is He asking you to leave behind your “nets”? Where is He inviting you to be a source of unity rather than division? Where is He shining light into a place you thought was too dark?

The good news is that the One who calls us is the One who equips us. The One who begins His ministry in the margins begins His work in us the same way — right where we are, in the ordinary, in the imperfect, in the places we least expect. And if we follow Him, even haltingly, even imperfectly, we become what He promised: fishers of people, bearers of light, instruments of unity, signs of hope.