12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." 17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." 18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
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In this current day and age if a strange man would come up to us while we were working there is very little chance of us dropping everything and joining his crew. It just wouldn't happen. We have to feed our families, we have to pay our bills, we have to work to make money, which is our ultimate comfort, right? We are fulfilling our civic and spiritual duty by doing our job; joining in on the daily grind of paying taxes, clocking in, clocking out--wash, rinse, repeat; day in and day out. However, this isn't what happens in this weeks gospel.
Jesus walked up to these fishermen and they dropped everything and followed him. Now, the important part is, these men were doing just what we do: they were working for their livelihood. They supported their families, paid their bills and went on vacations from the money garnered from these fish. However, when Jesus strolled up and said, "Hey, let's go!" They dropped their nets, left their families and became students of Jesus. There was no money, there was no way to continue supporting their families, there was Jesus and a new mission. The kingdom of God was coming near and it was time to let people know. They were moved so strongly that they walked away from everything to follow the teacher of a new way.
What about us?
Where does that leave us?
Do you feel a calling on your life?
What are you willing to do to accept that call?
More often that not we are unwilling to step out on faith because there is no money, there is no way to support our families, there is no promise of earthly gains to keep us on track to our earthly goals. However, what we gain by following Jesus is much more. The kingdom is drawing near, those living in shadows see a great light, those with great diseases were cured--all by following Jesus. The heavenly gains to be made far outweigh anything we might possibly gain in this life. It is up to us to accept the call, drop everything and follow...
Let us pray:
Most gracious heavenly father, we thank-you for sending your son to show us the way; to beckon us to follow in order to gain the heavenly gifts that you offer to us. At the same time, we have to ask you to provide us with the strength, courage and willingness to accept the calls you place on our hearts. We get so caught up in the greatness of this world that we lose focus on the greatness of your love. So, we ask that you be with us as we struggle through this life. In the name of your only son, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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