Matthew 4: 12-23
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012526.cfm
While the number of people at work in a decent job and a respectable living wage lends dignity to a person, we know that fulfillment as a human being demands more than just a place to work. There is a deeper need we should answer – that for meaning and purpose - something more to follow and something greater than ourselves.
In the time of Jesus,
a job or career track was not something you applied for through a job interview
or searched for on the internet, prepared for through a college education, or
any other way in which one may find work today. Such a way of life was non-existent.
In ancient Israel,
work was passed down from one generation to another through one’s father to his
son(s). Whatever the trade was,
carpentry, fishing, farming, there was no hope you would advance to a
higher level. The vast majority of
people simply lived day to day and this was the prevailing atmosphere that
Jesus encountered within the Galilee region. Yet this northern region of Israel
was also a crossroads of world travel. It was a Gentile region populated by the
very poor and also historically a region of mixture between Jew and Gentile.
Here Jesus chose to begin his public ministry.
Our first reading
from Isaiah speaks of: “. . . the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali . .
.” which in itself really means nothing to us.
However, in the history of ancient Israel, one thousand years before the
coming of Christ, this was the far northern region overrun by the Assyrians. A
land where the twelve tribes of the Jews were dispersed far and wide in
exile. The darkness of Assyrian conquest
had nearly destroyed this culture but now a new light has arrived. Hope is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus as
the light of the world and here our Lord begins his public ministry announcing
that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus begins along
the Sea of Galilee and calls to himself a new leadership which will reunite the
twelve dispersed tribes of the Jews in the twelve apostles and his new world
order according to God’s design: the kingdom of heaven.
So, he calls Andrew
and Peter, James and John, away from their familiar surroundings to set out in
a new direction under his direction to be his disciples: “Come after me, and I
will make you fishers of men.” It is Jesus
gathering an action plan for the future and he invites these four to be among
the first to help him implement a new vision for all humanity. In fact, the
whole ministry of Jesus was to gather to himself those who would be his
followers. God comes to unite the divided. God calls these men; he chooses them
for discipleship. They hear his voice and instantly drop what they are
doing. We see their reaction described
as “at once” and “immediately.” So, their response to the Gospel event today is
inspiring.
Called away from one of the most stable works of the time they are now invited to discipleship by Jesus, these men illustrate an eagerness that is surprising. Jesus calls us to be his followers; he seeks us out and invites. For these men they could have responded in one of two ways. The suggestion of discipleship could be seen an intrusion into their plans for the future, or they drop what they are doing, leave those plans behind, and follow Jesus. But it is God who calls.
So our Lord
essentially makes an offer: Come after me. What did he offer them? Our Lord did not offer them a book of
instructions, or a map to follow, or a promise of riches and fame. He offered them himself and there was
undoubtedly something about this teacher and wonderworker that compelled them
to respond as they did. Would you do the
same?
What does Jesus call us away from and where are we called to? Does discipleship demand a complete abandonment of all attachments both familial and material? The call may be radical, or it may be situational. In other we are called by Christ to be a light shining in darkness. Our baptism marks us for Christ through the sign of the cross and washes away the guilt of original sin making us among the band of his followers. In essence we are called away from the world with its empty promise of fame, wealth, power and prestige and to give ourselves to the greater promise of the kingdom of God.
Yes, we must leave
behind certain ways of living and attachments that distract us from the Gospel,
but we must do so in the time and place we find ourselves; in the varied
vocations we live and as witnesses to God’s promise of redemption and freedom
from those powers that bind us: the lure of riches, fame, and ego satisfaction.
To hear the call of Jesus and to find him in a personal encounter in prayer, in the sacraments, in the suffering, and ultimately to see him present in the Eucharist and then to go out on mission to transform a world by the faith he entrusts to us. Called away from all that is not of God and called to all that is of him. In this way the light of Christ can shine through us in the land of darkness. In the many tasks and moments of daily life, let’s not miss the call that Jesus offer us and set out more fully in his way: “Come, follow me.” Imagine our Lord is standing before you as he looks into your eyes with those words of invitation.
Almighty ever-living God
direct our actions according to your good pleasure,
that in the name of your beloved Son
we may abound in good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
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