3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – 25 January 2026

Last Thursday, our nation paused to observe a National Day of Mourning for the victims of the Bondi Terror Attack on 14 December last year. It was a day to remember lives cut short, families changed forever, and a community wounded by violence. It was a call to us to remember the victims of violence, to honour their lives, and to commit ourselves to a society where safety and respect for life are paramount. In the same week, we witnessed important legislative reforms addressing gun laws and hate speech — reminders that our society continues to struggle with the tension between freedom and responsibility, speech and safety, fear and hope.  This, too, was a reminder to us that the Gospel demands practical action: the pursuit of justice, the protection of the vulnerable, and the fostering of communities free from fear. And tomorrow, of course, we will mark Australia Day, a day of gratitude for the gifts of our country, for its diversity and resilience, while recognising that celebration is incomplete unless it is grounded in truth and care for one another.

In the midst of all the events of the last week and our celebrations this weekend, we listen to the account of the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.  This ministry begins in Galilee, not Tiberias the capital of Roman secular power, nor in Jerusalem, the capital of religious power.  Rather, it begins in a place of margins and encounter, in Capernaum.  Jesus goes where people are vulnerable, where suffering is carried silently, and where cultural and social tensions meet. It is in that space that the light of God’s kingdom begins to shine — offering hope, solidarity, and the courage to act for the common good.  And yet in this place of intersections, we hear that Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, calling people to repentance.   Of course, on hearing this the question amongst the vulnerable and suffering people of Galilee would have been, “What have we to repent? We are the victim, the downtrodden. We have nothing about which to repent.  Preach repentance to our oppressors. They are the ones who must repent.” And yet, it is to the poor of Galilee that Jesus preaches repentance.  We can only make sense of this if understand what repentance means for Jesus. It is not simply regret or guilt, but a call to live differently, especially in a world marked by fear and division The word “repent” invites us to turn our lives around, to reorient our hearts toward justice, mercy, and reconciliation. The call to those people on the shores of Galilee is the same given to us:  Repent, let go of the instinct for revenge. There is no future when the cycles of domination and submission are forever perpetuated. Find a new way to live in peace with one another, that way of openness and care which will be demonstrated entirely by my life, my ministry, and ultimately by my death.

“Will you follow this way?” This is the question that leads to the call of the first disciples, “Come, follow me.” It demands an entirely new framework for living.  We have to let go of all that we may have held dear in the past. There are no guarantees, no step-by-step plan, only an invitation to walk with him, to share his mission of healing and forgiveness which brings the outsider into the centre. Today, that same invitation comes to us. To follow Christ is to turn from apathy to action, from fear to courage, from division to communion.

This week asks us the same question the Gospel always asks: What kind of community are we becoming? A community that remembers and mourns faithfully, a community that acts to protect life and dignity, a community that celebrates with gratitude while working for justice?  May we, as followers of Christ, take up the call to walk together in truth, hope, and love, becoming light for one another in times of grief, challenge, and celebration.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus says. Let us follow him into a society marked by justice, peace, and the protection of all life, from the unborn, to those who find themselves on the margin, to those at the very end of their journey. Let us take our part in creating a new society in which a new order of relationship, the Kingdom of God, might shine forth.