Mark 1:14-20 NRSVue
14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”,
16As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
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Reflection on Mark 1:14-20
Inspiration from 2025-01-13 Daily Prayer
Jesus always knew that for his mission to succeed he would need a special group of followers who would become his devoted companions and who would be formed through hearing his teachings and by his presence among them. The four that he calls in this gospel had already met him and heard him preach. Andrew had spent a day with him and later introduced him to his brother Peter, saying, ‘We have found the Messiah.’
They were simple fishermen but they were to become apostles to the world. Nothing is impossible to God. In John’s Gospel we read, ‘You have not chosen me. I have chosen you and appointed you to go out and bear much fruit.’ We pray that our lives may make a difference for others.
Further reflection
As Jesus called people, he recognised their skills and spoke to them in their own language. I consider how Jesus might speak to me as I listen for his invitation to follow.
The disciples were able to leave everything to follow. I pray for the freedom to be able to leave behind or to stay with, whichever way brings serves God.
Here is a scene to imagine: the sunny lakeshore dotted with fishing boats. Simon and Andrew are fishing with umbrella-shaped nets, which they would cast skilfully to spread over a stretch of water. Jesus moves slowly towards them, conscious that he is disturbing their work, but calling them to another task. He must have watched them earlier, talked to them, and got the measure of them as they got of him. So when he speaks that incredible /Follow me/, they have already felt his attraction and know: this is somebody you can take a risk with.
You look at me, Lord, and I look at you as you ask me to work for a kingdom of justice and love. I remember Alice Meynell: /Thou art the Way. Hadst thou been nothing but the goal, I cannot say If thou hadst ever met my soul./
If you google /Executive recruitment/ on the Web, you are asked to examine CVs (or /resumés/ as they are sometimes called), which list the qualifications and experience of candidates. Then you are urged to hire expert recruiters to interview on your behalf. Jesus by contrast moves along the lakeshore, meets dozens of fishermen, and finally picks Simon, Andrew, James and John. He calls them to a global mission. They have no relevant experience and no training for the job. They are ordinary workers, good men. Their CV would be telegraphic: /I grew up here. I fish/. Jesus' call is simple: "Follow me". Today his followers form the largest body of believers on the planet. Let me never lose a sense of how extraordinary this moment is.