He Calls. Will You Answer?
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 Feast of St. Andrew. Whenever we celebrate the feast of one of the Apostles, we are reminded of the definition of the name: one who is sent.
Jesus did not call His Apostles so that they could be glorified. He did not call them so that they could become rich and powerful. He did not call them so that they could ignore the plight of others.
He called them so that they could go into the world and tell the Good News. Not only “tell” the Good News, but actually “do” the Good News: heal the sick, raise the dead, announce a year of favor from the Lord.
They were able to accomplish that great task only because they left everything else behind to follow Jesus.
Following Jesus is not a 50-50 proposition. It is not a 60-40 or 70-30 or 80-20. It is not even a 99-1 proposition. If we are to be faithful, we have to be all in. That means giving of ourselves 100%. Following the Lord means leaving behind anything that might hinder us.
That does not mean that we cannot have things. It does not mean that we cannot enjoy our lives here on earth. What it means is that we cannot let anything that we have get in the way of our love of God or our willingness to be His servants.
The Apostles were all in. How about you?
FAITH ACTION: What keeps you from dedicating your life to God as completely as possible. Try to do without it today.