These weeks between the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Lent are celebrated as “ordinary time.” During ordinary time the daily readings are done as a “lectio continuo,” as a continuous reading a book of a Bible chapter by chapter. This year the first reading is taken from First Samuel which tells of the coming of kings to Israel. The gospel will be from St. Mark, probably the first Gospel written even though it is not first when the New Teatament was complied. Mark 1 launches right into Jesus ministry with his preaching: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” The first thing Jesus does to inaugurate his mission is gather people around him. He calls the two sets of fishmen brothers to join him in his work. Jesus was no Lone Ranger but someone who needed people in order to accomplish God’s plan for his life. That is a vivid illustration of the importance of community for those of us who are followers of Jesus. We do not find our way to God alone but as part of a people. Even God lives as a Trinity for it is the divine plan that the many become one.
