January 25, 2026 – Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012526.cfm)
I once took a taxi from the airport on my way home. Like many taxi rides, it started quietly. Then the driver began to talk not about traffic, not about politics, but about God. He spoke with conviction and warmth. In fact, he felt compelled to share his faith story in order to preach the Gospel and bring more people into baptism.
He was not a Catholic, but became a Born Again Christian. And so I asked him what led him into becoming a Born Again. He said, “Father, I encountered the Lord when my wife was dying of cancer.” He shared how, during those long days in the hospital, a group of Born Again Christians would visit, pray with them, and simply stay. In that dark season, he said, something changed in him. He felt seen. He felt accompanied. He felt light entering a very heavy moment of his life. That encounter changed him so deeply that he could not keep it to himself. Now, he shares his faith with almost everyone who rides his taxi.
That very experience bring me now into the invitations being revealed to us on this Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. And so, allow me to bring you all into our readings again and realize God’s gentle invitations and reminders for us.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus begins His public ministry by proclaiming a simple message: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Then He walks by the sea and says to fishermen, “Come after me.” And immediately, they follow Him. We often wonder: why so fast? Why leave everything behind?
The first reading from Isaiah gives us a clue. The prophet speaks of people who were walking in darkness and have seen a great light. Israel had lived under oppression, fear, and uncertainty. Hope had been delayed for a long time. When Matthew describes Jesus beginning His ministry in Galilee, he is telling us that this is the light Isaiah promised. Jesus is not just offering teachings, He is offering a new way of seeing life and a new way of living life.
That is the single theme that runs through all the readings that people follow Jesus because they have seen light in Him. This is the light that gives meaning, direction, and hope.
Simon, Andrew, James, and John did not follow an idea. They followed a person who made sense of their longing. Before mission came encounter. Before discipleship came experience. They saw something in Jesus that answered a deep hunger within them.
St. Paul, in the second reading, reminded the Corinthians, and us today, that this light must not be divided or owned. “Is Christ divided?” he asked. The light of Christ is not for competition, labels, or pride. It is for unity and witness.
Now let us bring this closer to our daily life. Many people today are walking in darkness, though they may look fine on the outside.
And darkness can be quiet. This can be exhaustion from work, anxiety about the future, family conflicts, sickness, loneliness, or the feeling that faith has become routine and dry. And so, we light candles, attend Mass, say prayers, but sometimes we wonder if we still feel the presence of God.
That taxi driver was honest. He said that before his wife got sick, he was Catholic but did not feel God’s presence. It was in suffering, and in the kindness of people who stayed with him, that he experienced God. That moment became his light.
This is where we Catholics must examine ourselves. We are often faithful in rituals, but can be very hesitant in sharing our personal experience of God. We hesitate out of shyness, fear of judgment, or the idea that faith-sharing is only for priests or “church people.”
In reality, even our Catholic students in MSU-Marawi can sometimes be annoyed or afraid when our Born Again sisters and brothers would ask them, “Do you have 5 minutes?”[1] We find ourselves so weak in speaking and sharing our God-experience and knowledge of the Church to the point that we can be easily swayed.
However, let us remember that the Gospel reminds us that to follow Jesus is not only to believe silently. We are demanded to witness through our actions, and through words when needed.
Hence, being Christian is not also limited to Sunday Mass, memorized prayers, or lighting candles. Being Christian means following Jesus where we are – at home, at work, online, in public transport, or in our ordinary conversations. Remember, the fishermen followed Jesus not by becoming perfect, but by trusting the light they had seen.
This tells us that the world does not need more arguments about religion. It needs people who have seen light and are willing to reflect it. People who can say, like that taxi driver, “I was lost, and God met me here.”
Jesus continues to say today, “Come, follow me.” He says it to parents, soldiers and policemen, workers, students, the elderly, and the tired. He says it not to burden us, but to invite us into a life that is brighter and more meaningful.
And so, I leave you now two takeaways for you further reflection this week.
First, remember one moment when God brought light into your life, especially during a difficult time. Thank Him for it this week.
Second, share that experience with one person, not as a sermon, but as a story. Be honest, simple, and real. Hinaut pa.
[1] It was their way of starting conversation among Christian students in a predominantly Muslim Community of MSU-Marawi. This is also the beginning of their proselytization.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 