It sounds so simple when we hear this old, old story. Jesus said “come” and they came. Jesus said “follow” and they followed. Was it really that simple? What was Jesus asking them to do? Jesus issued a call to discipleship knowing the culture, heritage, and economic status of these fishermen. He asked them to leave what they knew and were comfortable with to come and embrace a new lifestyle with different values and goals. What is Jesus asking us to do?
If Jesus had ever seen me fishing, He most surely would have just walked by and shook his head at the sight of me stretched out in the boat – baseball game on the radio – a couple of cold wobbly pops close at one hand – and probably sausage on a bun in my other hand. Even those guys with the TV fishing shows would be embarrassed at what I call fishing!
“Follow me and I will make you fishers of people”. In Matthew’s gospel this is the first time Jesus opens his mouth and doesn’t quote scripture or John the Baptist. And, these words were so compelling that Simon Peter and his brother, Andrew, drop what they are doing, and follow Jesus. We know where their journey will take them, but they have little idea what they have been drawn into.
They will learn much as they go! They will learn that Jesus goes against the ideas of this world! Jesus came to disturb and trouble this world! Follow me and I will make you fishers of people is the challenge we must face today. How can we be good fishers of people? How can we share his message with our families – with our neighbours? How can we become – as the old slogan proposes – part of the solution instead of part of the problem?
“Come follow me”. What is Jesus asking us to do? We come from diverse cultures, different worldviews, and different places on the socio-economic ladder. We, like the disciples of old, are called to leave comfort and predictability as we enter a life of service to God. The big question is will we?
There is power in being an example, in sharing one’s faith, because there is power in the message and power in the God the message is about. Like those first disciples, like those early converts in Corinth, we have little idea what we’ve gotten ourselves into, or what the years may hold. Like them we are beginners – works in progress. But the progress is up to each of us, if we decide to make use of what the Spirit offers us during this Holy Mass.
Is Jesus calling you? Sometimes the call of Jesus is as loud and clear as a fire siren. Sometimes, many times, His call is more like a still, small voice. But we are not meant to hear the call all by ourselves. It is part of God’s plan “to incorporate us as one body, so that our ears have other ears, other eyes, minds, hearts and voices to help us interpret what we have heard. Together we can hear our calls, and together we can answer them, if only we will listen for the voice that continues to speak to us in the language of our lives.”
I remember a wise old choir leader who advised the choir: “If you can’t hear the voices beside you you’re singing too loudly”. Harmony requires that we be able to hear others – that we deliberately alter our behavior and our attitudes so that we can hear our brothers and sisters – hear their voices and their hearts. No one in Corinth was listening at the time of Paul. Almost everyone was shouting – almost everyone was putting their views, their understanding, and their philosophy concerning what was right and good, first. Almost everyone had forgotten that the only leader they were supposed to follow was Christ.
Christ calls his disciples as they are. They do nothing to deserve his invitation. In today’s Gospel, we hear no account of the merits of these four, but only of his call. Only those ready and willing to receive this gift of transformation can hear the call of Christ.
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people.”
What is a Christian to do? What you and I are to do is disarmingly simple: We are to follow Christ. This releases us from a great many burdens. Where we are is no obstacle to Christ. What we do is no obstacle to Christ. Who we are is no obstacle to Christ. He calls us in our circumstances, not in spite of them. By calling us, Christ equips us. He makes it possible for us to follow him, to participate in the mystery of his death and resurrection, and to make that mystery visible to others. This is what discipleship requires.
–Deacon Terry Murphy