NOTES FROM FR. PAUL: I imagine Jesus, sitting on a rock next to the Galilee Sea, contemplating those hopeful fishermen casting out their nets into the water. They appear to be good workers, capable of much effort and perseverance. Jesus likes them. Who knows? Maybe they will accept being his first companions and collaborators. He speaks to them and invites them: “Follow me I will teach you to catch people.” I imagine Peter, Andrew, John and James may have already known Jesus. Maybe they had spoken to him in Capernaum. Maybe they had shared a meal with Jesus as he spoke of his projects. Which is why when Jesus invites them, they leave everything to follow him. They feel important and imagine an interesting future, possibly very different then what it later turned out to be. The fishermen could never imagine that following Jesus would bring about such enormous change. With time, they would discover it. A Christian is one who says yes to Jesus and begins walking with him. The mission becomes clear one step at a time, as events occur and through an increasing contact with the Lord. You do not have to be very wise. The first disciples were fishermen, a far cry from the Levite scientists and scholars. But Jesus has always liked simple people, because as he said, they have an enormous capacity to understand the language of God in the realities of daily life.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 15:35:28 +0000