St. Pius X Roman Catholic Parish

Last week, we had John’s version of Jesus calling his first disciples; this week, Mark’s. Something for us to consider is that Jesus invites his followers right where they are: in the midst of the work that they do everyday. We read these sentences: “Immediately they left their nets and followed him… Immediately… they left their father Zebedee… and followed him.” The question arises, “Did the disciples abandon their work and their families to follow Jesus?” It doesn’t seem so, for in a couple of Sunday’s we will hear of Jesus entering the house of Simon and Andrew, where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law who is in bed with a fever. In Luke’s gospel, we hear the story of the disciples being discouraged because they have fished all night and caught nothing. Though it appears they remained with their families and their livelihood, what the disciples did leave behind was their former way of looking at who they were and what they did. They began—gradually, slowly—to see everyday realities with new eyes, more aware of the significance of all of that to their role in God’s plan to bring salvation. So for us. God calls us where we are in the midst of what we’re doing. What we are called to do is to see all of that with the broad vision of Christ.