Sacred Scripture
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22)
Reflection
You would expect that there must have been some resistance to the call of Jesus, because it meant leaving what they were familiar with and good at and heading out into the unknown. Gathering people into the net of God’s kingdom proclaimed by Jesus is much more complicated than gathering fish from the Sea of Galilee into fishing nets. Yet, there was no hesitation.
The way the Lord works in our own lives is perhaps not all that different. He often calls us out to us in the midst of our daily tasks. He calls us beyond where we are, beyond the familiar, in the service of the coming of God’s kingdom. That call can come to us in small and subtle ways. We may find ourselves resisting it, but if we attend to it and allow it to resonate within us, and respond to it, we will often discover that the Lord works through us for good in ways that can surprise us.
Each of us know people at work, friends, family who perhaps spend no time with Jesus. Each of us can share the gospel with those who are in our circle of influence. Many have the ability to sing, preach or teach and you feel the Lord calling you to full time ministry. Heed the call. Be like the fisherman on Galilee and follow Jesus. Others have a heart full of compassion and you want to help people who are hurting. Make yourself available to serve God.
Never think that you aren’t good enough or that your contribution is unimportant. With God, ordinary people can do extraordinary things. All of God’s people working together can make a difference for time and eternity.
Prayer of The Day
Dear Jesus, we have heard your voice. We have felt your eyes upon us. And we have turned and dropped our nets. We follow you, with one shaky foot after the other. We follow you not because we know where you lead us, but because we know it is you, O Christ, who leads. Our hands often itch for the sureness of the nets we knew before. But now we hold our hands open in faith. Lead on, Master, to deeper and wilder waters.
Daily Note
How will you respond when Jesus calls you today? And He will call you (and me)! Will we be too preoccupied with our lives to hear his call? And if we do hear his call, will we make excuses to him why we are unable to follow him? Or will we joyfully drop everything and follow Jesus? What will we choose?
