Fishers of Men

 

12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 
15  “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, 
          on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 
16  the people who sat in darkness 
          have seen a great light, 
     and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death 
          light has dawned.” 
17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

18As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

Matthew 4:12-23

 

Shark Fishing

HOMER, Winslow

1885

Private Collection

Watercolor

 

https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20230120133617048&code=ACT&RC=56289&Row=13

 

Homer was fascinated by the daily lives of Bahamians and made a series of watercolors showing them engaged in their work at sea. For islanders who made their living on the water, sharks were both prey and predator. A contest between humans and nature is captured in this scene of two fishermen attempting to reel in a large shark. During Homer’s visit to the Bahamas, the local newspaper reported that a shark "measuring about eleven feet" was caught and brought to the Royal Victoria Hotel—where the painter was staying—for inspection. A similarly posed shark appears in preparatory studies he made fifteen years later when developing the composition for The Gulf Stream.



https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/829766



 

Homer didn’t hesitate to paint the everyday reality and people doing what they normally would, whether it’s a brave and dangerous act of fishing a shark, or capturing the sad reality of the fragile Caribbean world after the hurricane. Notice again what a virtuoso he is with watercolours, how gracefully he painted the transitions of colours, how he created a dynamic mood; 

 

https://byronsmuse.wordpress.com/tag/shark-fishing/

 

 

 

 

Our lives begin to end

the day we become

silent about things that matter.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 

 

 

Speak only if it improves

upon the silence.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

 





 

 

Happy 3rd Birthday Ray Yoshioka!

 

 

My new (to me) 2018 Lexus LS 500h

(only mine is a 4-door)

 

Peace Committee Meeting, Wednesday, January 18, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

An atheist is a man who has

no invisible

means of support.

~ John Buchan

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 22, 2023  Third Sunday after the Epiphany - Year A

 

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

 

 

Isaiah 9:1-4

 

 

 

Isaiah 9:1–4 

Psalm 27:1, 4–9 

1 Corinthians 1:10–18 

Matthew 4:12–23

 

Jesus said to Simon and his brother Andrew, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew 4: 12-23

THE WORD:

Galilee is the centerpiece of today’s readings.

In Jesus’ time, Galilee was the most populated and productive region of Palestine.  The great roads of the world passed through Galilee, making it a strategic target for invasion.  White-sailed ships crept up the Mediterranean coast from Alexandria and caravans traveled through the region from Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Galilee, unlike the rest of Palestine, had an international perspective, in touch with many non-Jewish ideas and influences.  Josephus, the Roman historian, wrote of the people of Galilee:  “They were fond of innovation and, by nature, disposed to change and delighted in sedition . . . The Galileans were never destitute of courage . . . They were ever more anxious for honor than for gain.”

In a few lines, Matthew sketches a new beginning in human history: the arrest of John and the end of the First Testament; the beginning of a New Testament in the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus in Galilee and the call of the first disciples from their fishing nets along the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus’ beginning his public ministry in Galilee is, for Matthew, the fulfillment of an ancient oracle concerning the Messiah: that, through the darkness of Galilee’s Assyrian captivity, the “great light” of their deliverance will appear (Reading 1).

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#jan22

 

 

First Reading Isaiah 9:1-4

1But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 
2   The people who walked in darkness 
          have seen a great light; 
     those who lived in a land of deep darkness — 
          on them light has shined. 
3   You have multiplied the nation, 
          you have increased its joy; 
     they rejoice before you 
          as with joy at the harvest, 
          as people exult when dividing plunder. 
4   For the yoke of their burden, 
          and the bar across their shoulders, 
          the rod of their oppressor, 
          you have broken as on the day of Midian.

Psalm 27:1, 4-9

1   The LORD is my light and my salvation; 
          whom shall I fear? 
     The LORD is the stronghold of my life; 
          of whom shall I be afraid?

4   One thing I asked of the LORD, 
          that will I seek after: 
     to live in the house of the LORD 
          all the days of my life, 
     to behold the beauty of the LORD, 
          and to inquire in his temple.

5   For he will hide me in his shelter 
          in the day of trouble; 
     he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; 
          he will set me high on a rock.

6   Now my head is lifted up 
          above my enemies all around me, 
     and I will offer in his tent 
          sacrifices with shouts of joy; 
     I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

7   Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, 
          be gracious to me and answer me! 
8   “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” 
          Your face, LORD, do I seek. 
9        Do not hide your face from me.

     Do not turn your servant away in anger, 
          you who have been my help. 
     Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, 
          O God of my salvation!

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

10Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. 11For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. 12What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

18For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Gospel Matthew 4:12-23

12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 
15  “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, 
          on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 
16  the people who sat in darkness 
          have seen a great light, 
     and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death 
          light has dawned.” 
17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

18As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.