A pretty good deal

 

Every day, my social media platforms (thanks to algorithms embedded in the programs) are riddled with ads for products that I’ve maybe expressed an interest in.  Most of them are products that claim they will improve my life, but I have to act now!  They say that for an embarrassingly little cost, I get a great return.  In other words, they’re too good to be true.  More often than not, I simply scroll past them and hope they go away.  But they don’t.  It seems the only way to be free from seeing them or ‘hearing their pitch’ is either by sleeping or praying.

Jesus came into the lives of four hard-working, not-sleeping or praying men “by the Sea of Galilee” (Mark 1:14-20).  He came as a walking advertisement, urging them to buy into the kingdom.  If they’d been sleeping, Jesus would have had to pass them by again to invite them.  This is a most important aspect of His calling to each of us.

We might easily say, that had they been asleep they would have missed Him, and their lives would have been so different.  Sleeping, inattentiveness, unawareness, and personal density are elements of the human experience which are normal—and God visits them reverently, patiently, whispering and sometimes shouting to bring us around.  Jesus never does pass by, just once; He’s the ever-invitation which just keeps awakening, stimulating, advertising God’s existence and love.

In Mark’s Gospel, we’re first told the message (the Product) and then we hear about the enlisting of the first four ‘salesmen’ who would be sent out to make the product saleable.  They seemed so ready, so free to respond.  Maybe they were disenchanted with their humble work.  Perhaps the fish weren’t biting or hitting the net that season.  Perhaps they had problems with their parents or owners. Whatever the issues were, they jumped up and out and after the ‘Caller’.

There’s something in the human construction that’s “callable” or available or attracted to the beyond, the ultimate—He Whom we call God.  In the Old Testament, Jonah jumped up, even though he had been thrown overboard and left to drown after responding to God’s first call (Jonah 3:1-10).  The four fishermen responded not only from the external call of Jesus, but to something deeper inside their souls.  Something in them wanted to be called to mystery, mission, and the “More” of life.  They certainly weren’t totally aware of the changes which the calling would require (the cost), but they felt something common to all four of them and common to us.  This common sense might be belonging, identity, or a strong sense of importance.  The Product—the Gospel (the Good News)—reverences all that’s appropriately human and calls us to that.  This is “repentance”, or the change from pure self-involvement to living under the influence of our imbibing the Product.

Many of us don’t know exactly why we’re Christians and Catholics.  We probably have some reasons which satisfy those who might ask.  If we’re honest, it just seems like a good idea, or scheme of good ideas.  It seems suitable or fitting.  There’s just a ‘something’ inside us, unexplainable, which wants to respond to His call.  This response isn’t always consistent, but His call is always in the air surrounding our boats and nets.  We pray to stay awake, attentive, aware of life and aware of that receptiveness within us.  The noise of our boats, the entanglements of our nets can deafen that inner sense, but Jesus, like the good advertiser He is, keeps repeating His divine “1-800 number”.  His call is free and if we buy into the Product, we’ll be free as well.

The Psalms cry for the Lord to teach us his ways (Psalm 25:4-9).  There’s an urgency (“Buy now!”) in St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians in which he speaks about time running out (1 Corinthians 7:29-31).  And in the Gospel from Mark Jesus tells the people of Galilee, “This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

When I was younger, I remember being afraid of the word repent.  It was associated with dire consequences.  I was sure there was a trick question involved and I worried that I wouldn’t know whether or not I was in God’s favor.  When the people of Nineveh heard Jonah announce their city would be destroyed, they drastically changed their behavior.  What if I had been a citizen of Nineveh and had my earphones in so I missed Jonah’s urging to change my ways? 

Now as I look at the definition of repent: “to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life”, I have a different view.  I trust in God’s love for me and I believe God wants me to make the right choices.  God is always speaking, and I simply need to listen and trust in his ways.  I also feel God’s compassion when I fall short in my efforts.

God finds us where we are and invites us to reform our life, believe in the Gospel, and follow Jesus.  In return God makes these promises:  "I will make you fishers of people.”  “I will give you rest.”  “The reign of God will be yours.”  “You will be consoled.”  “You will inherit the land.”  “You shall have your fill of holiness.”  “Your reward will be great.”  “You will be the light of the world.”  “You will be the salt of the earth.”  “God who sees in secret will repay you.”  “God will forgive you.”  “Ask and you will receive.”  “You will be great in the Reign of God.”  “You shall be called ‘children of God’."  “You shall see God."

Sounds like it’s too good to be true!  Still, it seems like a pretty good deal to me.