1. In the first chapter Jonah ran away from Yahweh when he was called. Can you relate to that sometimes? In the third chapter he does what Yahweh asks. Were both Jonah and Jesus calling people to conversion? Were these announcements intended for every nation and every person on earth?

2. What was God looking for in the Ninevites? Does God call you to conversion just once or over and over again? Why? If you were Jonah today what message would you take to all the people causing any kind of suffering or injustice?

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 7:29-31

1. Do you think the message in this reading concerns preparation for the next life or happiness in this life? Does having your security in the goods of this world make you happy? Paul says, “Let ... those using the world [act] as not using it fully.” How could this be a recipe for happiness now?

2. The reading says, “The time is running out.” Might this be a message for us today about our environment and our care for creation?

Gospel
Mark 1:14-20

1. Must you be called as a missionary and go, for instance, to Africa in order to respond to the Gospel? Or could you be called to bring the Good News, whether you are fisherman, woman, or theologian––in whatever you do? Which way does Jesus call you?

2. According to Pope Francis’s homily below, does God look for you where you are, in your ordinary life? Can your ordinary life be sacred?

John [the Baptist] received people in the desert, where only those able to leave their homes could go. Jesus, on the other hand, speaks of God in the heart of society, to everyone, wherever they find themselves. He does not speak at fixed times or places, but “walking along the shore,” to fishermen who were “casting their nets” (v. 16). He speaks to people in the most ordinary times and places. …

The disciples would never forget the words they heard that day on the shore of the lake, …“Follow me, I will make you become fishers of men.” (v. 17 … Jesus spoke to them in terms of their own livelihood: “You are fishermen, and you will become fishers of men.” Struck by those words, they come to realize that lowering their nets for fish was too little, whereas putting out into the deep in response to the word of Jesus was the secret of true joy.

The Lord does the same with us: he looks for us where we are, he loves us as we are, and he patiently walks by our side. As he did with those fishermen, he waits for us on the shore of our life. With his word, he wants to change us, to invite us to live fuller lives and to put out into the deep together with him.

Homily for 3 Ord B, 2021
Pope Francis