Reflection
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him
Matthew 4:12 -23
For the Apostles this was a powerful moment. It changed their lives forever. The gospel doesn’t tell us that they talked it over. They didn’t have a discernment process. They didn’t stop to make explanations for leaving. They recognized it. They went. They left “at once” and they followed him. How well did they know him? Had they ever met before? No matter. Something happened within them when they heard that invitation and it could not be ignored.
Prayer
Today if you hear God’s voice harden not your hearts.
Psalm 95
Action
What holds me back from following Christ with a total response? How do I put it off?
Suggested Readings
As he 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.
Matthew 4:12- 23
Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1
I heard the call to give up all and follow Christ into the slums to serve Him among the poorest of the poor.
Mother Teresa
Let this be your whole endeavor, this your prayer, this your desire,–that you may be stripped of all selfishness, and with entire simplicity follow Jesus only.
Thomas à Kempis
Christ did not appoint professors, but followers. If Christianity … is not reduplicated in the life of the person expounding it, then he does not expound Christianity, for Christianity is a message about living and can only be expounded by being realized in people’s lives.
Soren Kierkegaard
The Gateway to Christianity is not through an intricate labyrinth of dogma, but by a simple belief in the person of Christ.
Norman Vincent Peale
Jesus tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Bob, why are you resisting me?” I said,” I’m not resisting you!” He said,” You gonna follow me?” I said, “I’ve never thought about that before!” He said,” When you’re not following me, you’re resisting me.”
Bob Dylan
I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It’s just that the translations have gone wrong.
John Lennon
The New Testament is an intensely personal document. It is not the effort of a group of men who are out to prove something to us by the force of their rational arguments. But it is the testimony, or testament, of a group of witnesses… who are bent on simply reporting to us the experience of a love that overtook them and overwhelmed them, a peace that passed all their understanding, and a peace that they in turn would pass on to us.
Robert L. Short
But when once Christ had called him, Peter had no alternative he must leave the ship and come to Him. In the end, the first step of obedience proves to be an act of faith in the word of Christ. But we should completely misunderstand the nature of grace if we were to suppose that there was no need to take the first-step, because faith was already there. Against that, we must boldly assert that the step of obedience must be taken before faith can be possible. Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer