will make you fish forpeople.” At once, they abandoned their netsand followed him. Jesus went a little fartheron,
and saw James and John, the sons ofZebedee; they were in their boat mendingtheir nets. Immediately, Jesus
called themand they followed him, leaving their fatherZebedee in the boat with the hired men.
Reflection:
The opening messageof Jesus’ ministry has twoannouncements
and two callsto action: two announcementsthat the Time and the
Kingdomare here; two calls for changeand belief. At this point,
hedoes not explain what is meantby the Time or the Kingdom,
orhow to change. The world willknow, gradually, as this Time and
the Kingdom unfold in his verybeing. What we need to do is tofollow
him, live with him. Thisis the call given to Simon andAndrew:
“Follow me”. The samecall is given to James and John.To you and me.
As Pope Benedictobserved, being Christian is anencounter not with an
ethicalchoice or lofty idea, but withan event, a person (cf. DeusCaritas
Est, # 1). You follow him,trusting that in the course of thefollowing,
everything will unfoldat the right time.
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