January 25, 2026 Homily: Fr. Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:02There is something deeply intentional
2. 0:05about where Jesus begins.
3. 0:08Not Jerusalem,
4. 0:10not in the temple,
5. 0:12not in the centers of power, of
6. 0:14learning, or religious prestige.
7. 0:19Jesus begins in Galilee,
8. 0:22in Capernaum,
9. 0:23on the edges,
10. 0:25in a place with a memory of loss,
11. 0:29a land once conquered, humiliated,
12. 0:33deported,
13. 0:35a people who knew what it meant to be
14. 0:36overlooked, broken, and forgotten.
15. 0:41Isaiah names it without if you
16. 0:44if you if you ism.
17. 0:47A people who walked in darkness, a land
18. 0:49overshadowed by death.
19. 0:54And it is this it is there, precisely
20. 0:57there, that Jesus begins to preach.
21. 1:01This matters more than we think.
22. 1:05Because Jesus does not wait for things
23. 1:07to be cleaned up before he arrives.
24. 1:10He does not wait for the light before he
25. 1:13shows up.
26. 1:15He does not wait for strength, clarity,
27. 1:17or readiness.
28. 1:19He enters darkness on purpose.
29. 1:23And not just the darkness of history,
30. 1:25but the darkness of the human heart.
31. 1:29Every one of us knows something about
32. 1:31Galilee.
33. 1:34The places in our lives we avoid.
34. 1:37The seasons we survived but never healed
35. 1:40from.
36. 1:41The sins we are convinced that define
37. 1:44us.
38. 1:45The doubts we keep quiet.
39. 1:48The grief that still shapes how we love
40. 1:50and live.
41. 1:53The parts of ourselves we assume God
42. 1:55keeps his distance from.
43. 1:59And yet the gospel says something
44. 2:00different.
45. 2:02This is exactly where Jesus begins.
46. 2:06The people who sat in darkness have seen
47. 2:08a great light. Not because of darkness
48. 2:11disappeared, but because light walked
49. 2:13into it.
50. 2:16This is the first proclamation of Jesus'
51. 2:18ministry.
52. 2:19He says, "Repent, for the kingdom of
53. 2:21heaven is at hand."
54. 2:23The word repent is so often
55. 2:25misunderstood. It does not mean be
56. 2:27ashamed.
57. 2:29It does not mean, "Hey, get your act
58. 2:30together."
59. 2:32It means something far more hopeful, far
60. 2:34more demanding.
61. 2:36It means change your direction.
62. 2:39Because God is closer than you think.
63. 2:43Jesus does not shout from a distance.
64. 2:46He speaks while walking beside the
65. 2:48apostles,
66. 2:50beside the people.
67. 2:52And then something even more astonishing
68. 2:54happens.
69. 2:55Jesus keeps walking.
70. 2:58And he calls.
71. 3:00He sees Simon and Andrew, James and
72. 3:02John, working men, ordinary men, men
73. 3:05with routines, responsibilities,
74. 3:07unfinished business.
75. 3:11And he does not offer them a strategy,
76. 3:13he does not offer them an off-ramp. Come
77. 3:16follow after me.
78. 3:18Forget about all those things you need
79. 3:20to take care of.
80. 3:22He doesn't explain it. He doesn't
81. 3:24explain the cost. He doesn't give them
82. 3:26any guarantees. He gives them himself.
83. 3:29Come after me.
84. 3:31That's it.
85. 3:33Follow me.
86. 3:35No resume required, no spiritual resume
87. 3:38requested, no clarification offered.
88. 3:41Just an invitation into a relationship.
89. 3:46And here's the detail we often miss.
90. 3:49Jesus does not call them away from they
91. 3:52are, he calls them through who they are.
92. 3:57Fisherman become fishers of men.
93. 4:01Their daily work becomes the language of
94. 4:03their vocation.
95. 4:05Grace does not erase nature, it elevates
96. 4:08it.
97. 4:10And they leave.
98. 4:11Not because they fully understand, not
99. 4:13because they feel prepared, but because
100. 4:16something in his voice, something in his
101. 4:18presence, his gaze tells them, "This is
102. 4:22the one.
103. 4:24This is the one worth trusting."
104. 4:28That's discipleship.
105. 4:31Not certainty, but surrender.
106. 4:33Not clarity, but courage.
107. 4:36Not having all the answers, but choosing
108. 4:38a direction.
109. 4:41And here's the uncomfortable question
110. 4:43this gospel puts before us.
111. 4:46Have we reduced Jesus to someone who we
112. 4:48admire?
113. 4:51Are we still willing to follow him?
114. 4:54Because it is possible to be close to
115. 4:56Jesus without moving.
116. 4:59It's possible to listen with admiration
117. 5:01and love
118. 5:03without leaving.
119. 5:05It's possible to remain fascinated
120. 5:08without really truly being transformed.
121. 5:11Jesus does not ask for admiration, he
122. 5:14asks for allegiance.
123. 5:16And he still calls you today.
124. 5:20Not only the young, not only the
125. 5:22undecided, not only those figuring
126. 5:24things out, he calls even those who are
127. 5:26secure.
128. 5:28The settled, the faithful, the long-time
129. 5:30believers.
130. 5:32He says to you, "Come after me more
131. 5:34deeply
132. 5:37into forgiveness that you've been
133. 5:39avoiding,
134. 5:40into that trust where you prefer to be
135. 5:42always in control,
136. 5:44into that healing where you've learned
137. 5:46to cope instead of
138. 5:48giving it over to God's mercy.
139. 5:50Into mission where comfort feels safer.
140. 5:56And just as he did in Galilee, Jesus
141. 5:58begins not in our strengths, but in our
142. 6:00shadows,
143. 6:02in our weaknesses.
144. 6:04Because light does not light does its
145. 6:06greatest work where darkness once ruled.
146. 6:11If you're listening closely today,
147. 6:14you may realize something unsettling and
148. 6:16beautiful.
149. 6:18Christ is not merely being proclaimed,
150. 6:19he is passing by.
151. 6:23And the question is not whether he's
152. 6:24calling you,
153. 6:27the real question
154. 6:29then is not whether Jesus is calling, he
155. 6:32always is calling.
156. 6:35So, the question is whether we're
157. 6:36willing to leave the nets,
158. 6:39those nets that keep us anchored to what
159. 6:41is familiar, to what is comfortable,
160. 6:45what is in within my control and safety.
161. 6:49The nets of routine that numb us,
162. 6:52the nets of our fear that tell us it's
163. 6:54too late to change,
164. 6:56the nets of success and admiration and
165. 6:59resent and distraction that promise
166. 7:01security, but quietly drain all of our
167. 7:05joy.
168. 7:07Because those fishermen on the shore did
169. 7:08not leave evil things behind.
170. 7:12They left good things behind.
171. 7:15They left what made sense.
172. 7:17They left security, those things that
173. 7:20they were able to pay their bills with.
174. 7:22They left what they could manage on
175. 7:24their own.
176. 7:26And that is where the gospel becomes
177. 7:27dangerous.
178. 7:29Jesus does not ask for part of your
179. 7:32life, he asks for the very center of
180. 7:35your life.
181. 7:36He does not come to improve your plans,
182. 7:39he comes to replace them with something
183. 7:41far greater.
184. 7:43And it does not follow you, and he does
185. 7:45not follow you where you are
186. 7:47comfortable.
187. 7:48He invites you into a life you could
188. 7:50never imagine,
189. 7:52but could never save yourself.
190. 7:56So, my brothers and sisters,
191. 7:58this is the moment of truth.
192. 8:01To follow him means letting go.
193. 8:04It means trusting that the one who calls
194. 8:06you by name loves you enough
195. 8:09not to leave you as you are.
196. 8:12It means believing, perhaps for the very
197. 8:14first time, that your life is meant to
198. 8:17be more than just survivor survival.
199. 8:20More than just success, more than just
200. 8:22settling.
201. 8:24The question is whether we will keep
202. 8:26standing on the shore clutching the nets
203. 8:28that cannot save us, or whether today
204. 8:31today very
205. 8:33the our our very self
206. 8:35will finally drop them and stop and step
207. 8:37forward
208. 8:39and follow him into the only life that
209. 8:41truly satisfies, the life he alone can
210. 8:44give us.
211. 8:47The people who dwelt in darkness have
212. 8:49seen a great light, and that light has a
213. 8:51name.
214. 8:52And he's walking towards you today.
215. 8:55Will you follow?
216. 8:57Amen.
217. 8:58>> Amen.