Look around at our world. So much of what is happening today is due to the reluctance of folks to allow themselves to be stretched and brought to see what is really there. Many react to what life presents to them more with the lenses of ignorance than lenses of clarity. The Gospel carries great transformative value. With it, God corrects our vision and replaces our limitedsight with the fullness of his sight. God opens our eyes so that we can see that it is not about preserving what we have created but of living in the immensity and wonder of God’s kingdom.

We can easily get confused and misunderstand, not only about who we are but who God is. Even the disciples and the Samaritan woman at the well missed the point Jesus was trying to make. There is only one Person who can satisfy the deepest yearnings and longings of our hearts — Jesus the Messiah.

It is not the work of corporate America that will lead us to happiness or greatness but the work of the soul. We continue to resist acknowledging this and are happier in our world of misunderstanding and illusion. The life-giving water we truly need doesn't come from the source of a well but from the Source of Life. Only God can reveal the truth of our sinfulness, the superficiality of our pursuits, and the illusions we hold so dear. Only Jesus can save us from ourselves and give us what we really need. If only our heads can catch up with where our hearts know they n eed to be, then will we find real contentment and life!

Psychology has taught us a great deal about family dynamics and how we have come to be the person we find ourselves to be. We are comprised of such a mixed bag of blessings and obstacles with their graced moments and sinful ones.

Think back on the journey of your life and how the many different and varied choices that you made influenced the direction your life. If you didn’t go on that first date with your spouse, who would be beside you today? If you chose to be in one place rather than another, what would have happened to the course your life has taken?

We are on such a wonderful, exciting journey. What is most incredible and awesome is that we are not alone! God is with us. He inspires, heals, opens doors, and calls us every moment of our lives. The very life we have is due only to Him.

What weighs you down and keeps you trapped? Maybe you are trying to do too much and please too many people. It could be that your fragile self-image is always pushing you to prove yourself and find success. Anxiety and worry, ultimately due to a lack of faith, can quickly tempt you with despair. It could be that you are listening to too many voices and allowing all of the negativity that is present erode the genuine goodness in your heart and in all of God’s creation. Or maybe you struggle too much with fear. Perhaps so much so that you are far too preoccupied with your own agenda and goals and left with little psychological or spiritual room to consider and respond to the plight of your neighbor. Do anger, bitterness, stubbornness, and hatred have homes in your heart? How about greed, gluttony, pride, apathy, or lust?

The Gospels continue to challenge us to the core. This is especially true in the way our social relationships have developed. Feeling safe and secure in the world are not things that come easily these days. Actually, we may find ourselves feeling more reservation, caution, reluctance, and fear than ever before. In a moment’s notice, life can drastically change. When someone has been intentionally and violently hurt, especially someone we love, we can all too easily find ourselves very attracted to the Old Testament philosophy of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

People are not property. We cannot exchange them at will or simply use them for our own designs and purposes. What does the word "commitment" mean to you? We can begin to understand its meaning by looking at some synonyms: dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, and bond. Commitment is primarily about relationship, and Jesus is all about relationships. How our lives affect others, how we treat our brothers and sisters, how we resolve conflict, and how we view the vows of marriage. Jesus' teachings on obeying the commandments, murder, reconciliation, marriage, divorce, and adultery all stem from the sacredness of commitment. All of this has a God connection.

What does it mean to be salt and light? If we listen carefully to Jesus' words, we gain some direction. To be salt means to bring taste, zest, and joy to life. We are asked to liven things up a bit by allowing the joy of our faith to spill over into the lives of others. Only a sincere and deep relationship with God can freshen up humanity and set it on proper course. To be light means that our faith must translate into action so that we can be Christ for others and extend the same arm of mercy and compassion that Christ did. Our acts of piety, then, cannot be directed solely at ourselves. Prayer is never about self-benefit but must always be directed toward union with God, deepening our relationships with one another and learning how to be effective stewards of the beautiful universe God has entrusted to our care.

It begins! Jesus is doing something new. "He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea." Jesus leaves his family, his profession of carpentry, and everything he has known and loved for the previous 30 years. He goes because it is time. Something new is beginning, and Jes us will not begin it alone. "As he w as walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers … he walked along from there and saw two other brothers." What does he say to these men? "Come after me." These words are for Peter and Andrew, for James and for John. They are also for all of us.

On the cusp of fame, power, or influence, would you turn it down? Today's Gospel again features John the Baptist. Controversial but popular, John has gathered quite a group of followers. He has disciples. People come from near and far to be baptized by him. Pharisees and government leaders are drawn to his preaching. If John was another man, a lesser man, he would have claimed his own greatness. Instead, John the Baptist is a witness to humility.

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Behold the Lamb of God … he is the one of whom I said, "A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me."… the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known.'" Rather than point to himself, John points to Christ. John could have grasped at what he had accumulated. He could have seen Jesus as a Messianic competitor. Instead, John knows who he is. He knows his place as forerunner. Because John knows who Jesus is. "I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives four reasons for the Incarnation, why God became man in Jesus Christ. The third reason is “to be our model of holiness.” All of Jesus’ words and actions model for us what we ought to do. He also shows us how we’re meant to be. Jesus’ baptism ought to remind us of our own baptism and of the importance of baptism in the Christian life.

The Baptism of the Lord reminds us of our Trinitarian identity. When we are baptized, we stand in solidarity with Christ, bathed in the waters he sanctified. There, the Father proclaims our adoption into the family of God. “‘This is my beloved son [this is my beloved daughter], with whom I am well pleased.’” And the Spirit, too, descends. We are filled with the Spirit’s grace and power to continue Christ’s mission on earth. We received these gifts in the sacrament, and they continue to dwell within us through sanctifying grace. We can — and should — invite God to stir up these graces of our baptism and consider them in our own lives.

We may walk many roads when we search for God, and He leads us all the while. The men we honor today were not Jews. The Messiah wasn’t coming for them, not in the minds of Jesus’ contemporaries. These men were astrologers. They were adept at reading portents in the sky, a practice condemned in the Mosaic covenant. Still, to the best of their knowledge and awareness, they were seeking the truth. This truth led them to journey from their own homeland to honor a king they’d never met, one they couldn’t be sure truly existed. “‘We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.’” Who do you know seeks God so tenaciously?

“Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,” the Gospel tells us. Who are the seekers in your own life? Maybe it’s your cautiously curious coworker, the neighbor who unexpectedly found peace on a yoga retreat, or your desperately angry child who has chosen, for now, to go their own way. Perhaps they’re not overtly headed for Jesus now, not yet. But they may well be seekers of truth in ways we didn’t expect. Our invitation is to listen, inquire, and give directions when appropriate.