3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
What a moment! It was time to gather an army to start planning a war strategy. The Romans were going home. But something else happened, something unexpected. The man from Galilee began a walk along the seaside, asking fishermen to follow him. What was surprising was that they followed him!
The first were two brothers. They were casting their nets when he called. They stopped. They dropped their nets. He told them something crazy, but they dropped their nets to follow him anyway. He said to them that they were to be fishers of men. What did that even mean?
Jesus kept walking. And he did it again! A father and two sons sat in their boat, mending their nets. He called the brothers. They dropped their nets, jumped out of the boat, and followed him. Their father, Zebedee, just sat there watching his sons walk away.
These four men, Simon and Andrew and James and John began a journey that day. They sensed a certain messianic power in Jesus even though he didn’t speak the fiery words of rebellion like some others did. Maybe that’s why they followed him that day.
It would take them a long time to understand Jesus. They traveled with him for three years. They listened to his parables. They went through the terrible days of his arrest and execution. They felt joy like never before when they saw him that Sunday morning. They ate with him and listened to his words. They thought they had lost him when he left them, but the Spirit helped them realize that he was in their hearts. He made them strong and fearless. They shared his message – they shared him. They introduced him to others who introduced him to us. That was the day we began our journey.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, direct your light to my heart. Help me hear his call. Help me digest his message. Give me a portion of his mission and the courage to share it with the hungry multitude. Amen.
