Daily Reflection – 1/14/19
Sacred Scripture
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him. (Mark 1:14-20)
Reflection
Today, the Gospel invites us to change: “Change your ways and believe the Good News” (Mk 1:15). Change to what? It would perhaps be better to say, to whom? To Christ! To change means to gratefully receive the gift of Faith and live a life of love and service. To change means to accept Christ as the only Lord and King of our hearts, so that we become a useful servant to Him. To change implies discovering Christ in every event in human history —and in our own personal history too— while realizing He is the origin, the core and the end of all History and that everything has been redeemed by Him and, in Him, everything attains its maximum
plenitude. To change also implies living with hope, for He has defeated Sin, the Evil One and Death, and the Eucharist is His guarantee.
The very essence of Christianity is following Jesus, the Son of God. He takes the initiative to call us to himself and to follow him more closely. He invites us to follow him in proclaiming the Good News to the whole world. It is not enough to know Christ. We have to share our faith with others and let the Gospel direct our decision-making process.
Jesus breaks the mold of living our life as it feels comfortable to us. He commands us to leave our comfort zone. Unless we first change ourselves, we cannot expect to change the world. Until we first dedicate ourselves to knowing Christ better and more intimately, we will not be true apostles of his kingdom. Only after we have had a personal encounter with Christ can we experience the bliss of loving him more and cooperating in his saving mission.
Jesus calls you to follow him, and in following him you are to bring others along. God’s kingdom is meant to be shared. We need to be wise and looking for opportunities to lead other people to Christ. Jesus is calling each of us to be fishers of men.
Prayer of The Day
Lord, I do love you. I believe that You alone are the Holy One; you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the Glory of God the Father. At times Lord, it is difficult for me to yield all I am to you. Living all of my life at times consumes me. Help me to hear and live your invitation to come and follow you. Help me to live that invitation.
Daily Note
Jesus calling his disciples is a challenging passage. It is meant to be. It is meant to challenge you with the message of God’s kingdom, with the call to discipleship, and your appropriate response. Are you following Jesus? If not, you need to ask yourself, “Am I really a Christian? Am I really saved?” A Christian is someone who follows Jesus. That’s the call. If you are not following Jesus, then what are you doing?
