In reading my entry for yesterday, I don’t think I truly gave today’s gospel the attention I could have.
The story begins with the call of the first disciples—brothers Simon (who will be called Peter later on) and Andrew, and brothers James and John. I find it noteworthy, even remarkable, that Jesus doesn't seem to even consider doing His work alone. He has the power of God behind Him! Nature and the evil spirits obey Him! And yet it is also clear that from the beginning Jesus needed disciples. Or rather, God’s divine plan for our salvation needed people who would be with Him and would be drawn into His ministry and be able to witness to it.
Most of all, as we see in Mark's account of the story, He needed disciples that He could instruct in his very different and unexpected way of being Messiah. They would learn that He would lay down His life, according to the Father's will. They would learn that to be His disciples they, too, would have to take up their cross and follow Him. They learned that the very nature of being disciple was to be servant of all.
The first step was for them to lay down their nets, their ways of living their lives, and trust Him. If they were to gather people to Jesus they would do it in a completely new way, which He would teach them.
Am I strong enough and committed enough to “lay down my nets” and trust Him? I don’t mean we need to quit our jobs, leave our families and give all of our money to the poor—although we should give them what we can. But we can give our Lord all of our heart, mind and strength. In the last few years especially, I have tried to do just that by increasing my study of His word and following His commandments a lot closer.
In a sense, I guess I have “laid down my nets” and I trust Jesus to lead me where He wants me. This blog is a result of that trust. He has inspired me to spread the Good News to my family and friends and anyone else who wants to know the joy of knowing Christ.
The story begins with the call of the first disciples—brothers Simon (who will be called Peter later on) and Andrew, and brothers James and John. I find it noteworthy, even remarkable, that Jesus doesn't seem to even consider doing His work alone. He has the power of God behind Him! Nature and the evil spirits obey Him! And yet it is also clear that from the beginning Jesus needed disciples. Or rather, God’s divine plan for our salvation needed people who would be with Him and would be drawn into His ministry and be able to witness to it.
Most of all, as we see in Mark's account of the story, He needed disciples that He could instruct in his very different and unexpected way of being Messiah. They would learn that He would lay down His life, according to the Father's will. They would learn that to be His disciples they, too, would have to take up their cross and follow Him. They learned that the very nature of being disciple was to be servant of all.
The first step was for them to lay down their nets, their ways of living their lives, and trust Him. If they were to gather people to Jesus they would do it in a completely new way, which He would teach them.
Am I strong enough and committed enough to “lay down my nets” and trust Him? I don’t mean we need to quit our jobs, leave our families and give all of our money to the poor—although we should give them what we can. But we can give our Lord all of our heart, mind and strength. In the last few years especially, I have tried to do just that by increasing my study of His word and following His commandments a lot closer.
In a sense, I guess I have “laid down my nets” and I trust Jesus to lead me where He wants me. This blog is a result of that trust. He has inspired me to spread the Good News to my family and friends and anyone else who wants to know the joy of knowing Christ.
There is a new apostolate hitting the secular airwaves that anyone wanting to know more about the Catholic faith and Tradition can go to for help. You can find them at http://www.catholicscomehome.org/ . Our Lord is still calling all of us, just as He called His disciples and friends over two thousand years ago. But now, He is using the technology He inspired in us to do it. Don’t you think it’s a good day to speak to our Lord about this invitation, and see where He leads you?
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