Third Week of Ordinary Time – Mark 1:14-20
Today’s Gospel begins in the middle of Chapter One of Mark’s Gospel. This section of the chapter immediately follows the account of John the Baptist’s arrest. Despite the fact that John had been arrested, Jesus continued on to Galilee to proclaim His message. Everywhere He went, He proclaimed that the time of fulfillment, the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Jesus preached a message of repentance. He invited people to believe in the Gospel.
I wonder what the people who heard him preach thought of Jesus and His message. Andrew and Simon were among the crowd who listened to Jesus’ message. Jesus singled them out and invited them to follow Him. Immediately they dropped their nets, and left their families to follow Him. Jesus must have been a powerful speaker. Also, His message must have been very different from what the other prophets preached. There was something about Jesus that deeply touched Simon and Andrew. Jesus had something they longed for. Thus, they left their nets and boat to follow this man, Jesus.
As they walked along, Jesus called Simon and Andrew. Then going a little further, Jesus also called James and John to follow Him. What was it about Jesus that inspired these common, down-to-earth men, to leave their livelihood, their families and their home to follow this itinerant preacher! Jesus must have had a powerful presence but also a message that spoke to their hearts!
Why do we follow Jesus? Do we do it because it is what we learned as children? Do we follow Jesus because that is what we are supposed to do? Is Jesus a real person to us or is He simply a character in a story to us? Today take some time and reflect on this question: who is Jesus to you? Does Jesus make a difference in your life? I pray your answer is YES!
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