He Calls. How Will You Respond?
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him. (Mt 4:18-22)
Today is the very last day of the liturgical year. It also happens to be the Feast of St. Andrew.
How appropriate!
After all, each day of our lives, we live with the call of the Lord: “Come after me”. Each day of our lives, we are expected to respond to that call, up to the very last day.
What does the Lord want of us?
He wants us to drop everything and to follow Him.
Dropping everything means to drop our own plans for our lives, our own dreams, our own desires. That does not mean that we cannot fulfill any of our dreams. They just need to be in accord with what the Lord wants of us and for us.
God wants us to be fulfilled. God wants us to be happy, both now and for eternity.
So, if our dreams, our wants, our desires are all reflective of the love of God, we will have them.
We celebrate, today, the fact that Andrew — and the other apostles — abandoned everything to follow the Lord. Because of that, he has become a great example to us.
May we, one day, be just as much of an example to others who are struggling to follow the Lord.
FAITH ACTION: Ask yourself what kind of example you set for others. If your family, friends, co-workers and others do not see a good example in you, ask the Lord for the grace that you need to abandon yourself to His will.