Third Sunday of Ordinary Time 2025

 

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

It’s a question we usually ask young people as they dream about their future. Maybe you remember being asked that when you were younger. 

Did you want to be a firefighter, a teacher, a doctor, or maybe even an astronaut? 

It’s a question filled with hope and possibility.

But what if I told you that this question isn’t just for children? 

What if it’s also a question for us adults? 

Even now, we are still growing up—spiritually, emotionally, and in our understanding of God’s plan for us.

In today’s Gospel, we hear about Jesus returning to his hometown of Nazareth, where he grew up.

 Imagine the scene: the people who had known him as a boy now saw him as an adult. He stood up in the synagogue, opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and read those powerful words: 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” 

Then he boldly declared, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

This moment was not just a declaration of who Jesus was; it was a revelation of what he came to do. It was his mission statement. 

And what strikes me is that Jesus embraced his mission fully, not just for himself but for others. 

His growth wasn’t about achieving personal goals; it was about serving, healing, and bringing God’s love into the world.

So, let’s go back to that question: What do you want to be when you grow up? 

As followers of Christ, our growth doesn’t stop with age. We are always called to grow deeper in our faith and more intentional in our mission. 

We are called to grow into people who bring good news to others, who liberate, heal, and love, just as Jesus did.

Think about it: How are you still growing in your faith? How are you living out your mission as a disciple of Christ? 

Maybe it’s by showing kindness to a neighbor, volunteering at a local shelter, forgiving someone who’s hurt you, or simply being a source of encouragement to someone who’s struggling. 

Each of us has a role to play in making the words of Isaiah come alive in our world today.

Jesus returned to Nazareth as a grown man with a clear mission. He didn’t leave his past behind but built on it to fulfill God’s plan. 

And we are invited to do the same. No matter our age or stage in life, we are still in the process of growing into the people God created us to be.

So, I’ll ask you again: What do you want to be when you grow up? 

Let’s grow into people who share Christ’s love, bring hope to others, and make God’s kingdom more visible in our world. Amen.