Saints Timothy and Titus Gospel: Mark 3:22-30 Imitating Saints Timothy and Titus, Living in a Worthy Manner
Today, the Church celebrates the memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus. Saint Timothy was an assistant to the Apostle Paul during his missionary work in Greece and Asia Minor, and Saint Titus was also a companion of the Apostle Paul. Both saints, in their own ways, assisted the Apostle to the Gentiles, chosen by Christ Himself, in fulfilling his mission. Therefore, it is fitting for us to reflect on our own conduct in daily life.
In our daily lives, we often inadvertently say hurtful words—sometimes when we see others as stronger than us, sometimes when we see those who are less capable in various aspects doing better than us, and sometimes even in conflicts with our closest relatives. The root cause is actually our vanity influencing us. In life, we also face situations similar to what Jesus encountered today. When we live out the spirit of the Gospel and proclaim it to the world through our words, our tongues, and our actions, we may sometimes hear opposing voices. When we encounter such reactions, we are often tempted to argue and compete, seeking to prove our superiority in certain areas. All of this stems from following the impulses of the flesh. If, however, we are guided by the Holy Spirit, our outward actions will produce the fruits of charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. For those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us also follow the guidance of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22, 24–25).
When we compete with others, it is the devil attacking our hearts, creating discord between us and our brothers and sisters, our family, our friends, and our Church, thereby causing division. These human-made divisions gradually affect our relationship with God. As Jesus teaches us elsewhere: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt 9:12–13).
Now, let us offer our prayers to God:
O God, who adorned Saints Timothy and Titus with apostolic virtues, grant through the intercession of them both, that, living justly and devoutly in this present age, we may merit to reach our heavenly homeland. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
The first part of today’s gospel narrates a scene after the conclusion of John the Baptist’s mission. Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. Capernaum was a village of fishermen and farmers that stretched for about three hundred meters along the western shore of Lake Gennesaret (Galilee). Galilee was inhabited by Israelites regarded by all as semi-pagans because they were born from the intermingling of different peoples. They were considered as people living in darkness and ignorance.
It became the center of his activities for nearly three years. The change of residence—a very trivial fact—has been read by Matthew in its theological significance as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light: on those who live in the land of the shadow of death a light has shone” (v. 16). With this choice, Jesus indicates who are the first recipients of his light, not the pure Jews but the excluded, the distant.
In the second part of the passage, the calling of the first four disciples is narrated. It is more a piece of catechesis than a call narrative. The evangelist wants the disciple to understand what it means to say “yes” to Christ’s invitation to follow. It is an example, an illustration of what it means to be converted.
Matthew shows Jesus in constant movement. The one who is called must realize that he will not be granted any rest and there will not be any stop along the way. Jesus wants to be followed day and night and throughout life. There are no moments of exemption from commitments taken.
The answer, then, must be prompt and generous as that of Peter, Andrew, James and John who “immediately left their nets, their boat and their father, and followed him” (vv. 20, 22). The abandonment of one’s own father should not be misunderstood. It does not mean that anyone who becomes a Christian (or chooses the religious and consecrated life) must ignore one’s own parents. Among the Jewish people, the father was the symbol of the link with the ancestors and of attachment to tradition. And it is this dependence on the past that must be broken when it constitutes an impediment to welcome the novelty of the gospel. The history, the traditions, the culture of every people must be respected and valued. However, we know that not all the habits, customs, ways of life handed down are compatible with the message of Christ.
The demand of Jesus relates to the dramatic choice that the early Christians were called to do: choosing to become disciples they were rejected by the family, misunderstood by parents, expelled from the synagogues, and excluded from their people. For all, leaving the father implies the abandonment of everything that is incompatible with the gospel.
To the invitation to follow him, Jesus adds the charge: “I will make you fish for people” (v. 19). The image is taken from the work done by the first apostles. In biblical symbolism, the sea was the abode of the devil, of diseases and everything that opposed life. It was deep, dark, dangerous, mysterious, and terrible. In the sea, the monsters lived, and in it, even the most skilled sailors did not feel safe.
Fishing people means to get them out of the condition of death where they are. It means to pull them out from the forces of evil that, like the raging waters, dominate, engulf and overwhelm them.
The disciple of Christ does not fear the waves and courageously faces them, even when they are raging. He does not give up hope to save a sister or a brother, even when s/he is in a humanly desperate situation: a slave of drugs and alcohol, unbridled passion, irascible, aggressive and intractable character. In whatever situation he is he will be saved by the disciple of Christ.
Indebted to Fr. Armellini SCJ for textual analysis
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