Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time – Mark 1:14-20
Today in the Church, we return to Ordinary Time. The
quiet tone of Advent, the celebration of Christmas, and the beginning of a new year have all come and gone, and it can be
very relaxing to settle back into Ordinary Time.
The setting for today’s Gospel takes place immediately after
John’s arrest. Jesus is in Galilee
proclaiming the Gospel. He announces to the people that the Kingdom of
God is near. He preaches repentance to
the people.
Today, Jesus also calls his first apostles: Simon and his
brother, Andrew. As we know, Simon and
Andrew were fishermen by trade. Jesus is
walking along the Sea of Galilee and he saw Simon and Andrew as they were casting
their nets into the sea. Jesus simply
and quietly says: “Come! Follow me.” A bit later, he also calls James and his
brother John. They immediately drop their nets and follow
Jesus.
What was it about this man, Jesus, that enticed these
hardworking fishermen to leave their livelihood, their families, and their
homes to follow Jesus immediately? Was
it His charisma? What it the message He
was preaching? Or was it a call from
deep within?
Today Jesus is calling us just as He called His first
apostles. What will our response be? Will we tell Him that now is not a good time
for us? Will we give Him all the reasons
why we can’t pick up and follow Him? Will
we place our hope and trust in Jesus as these first disciples did? Will we eagerly follow Him? I pray we will!
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