CALL OF THE FIRST FOUR DISCIPLES

A boy in a Sunday school class became increasingly uncomfortable as the teacher spoke about dying and going to heaven. The teacher said, “Put up your hand if you want to go to heaven.” Everyone but the one boy put up their hands. The teacher was shocked. “Don’t you want to go to heaven?” The boy responded, “Yes, but not with this bunch.” Jesus comes out in this Sunday’s Gospel proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven and summoning people to repentance. But soon afterwards, He is pictured as calling the first four disciples—SIMON, ANDREW, JAMES and JOHN. He asks them to follow Him and He tells them that they are going to be fishers of men. In modern parlance we say that He is giving them a vocation and mission. Their vocation is to follow Him. That is the vocation of every Christian. To be called to be Christian is to be called to follow Christ, to share His life and values, to think His thoughts, to love with His heart and to live the way He did.

But this vocation is coupled with a mission. “The Christian vocation is by its nature a vocation to the apostolate.” Vatican II teaches (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, no.2). Once a person joins Christ, he must also join him in his mission. Jesus calls us not only for ourselves but for others also –to win them to Christ.

At the conclusion of one of the World Wide Retreats for Priests and Religious, Pope St. John Paul II told them a story. Priests and religious were arriving in heaven in great numbers. Each arrival is ushered into a room where Christ was waiting. But Christ looked pensive as He watched the arriving priests and religious. When one particular batch of arrivals was complete, He looked up and said to them, “I am glad that you are all here, but where are your people?”

And then the Pope told repeatedly the priests of this batch, “Fetch your people. Fetch your parishioners.” The Pope has been giving the same message to every Christian as he calls again and again for a new evangelization. Each one of us is asked to go out to his brother and sister, especially those who do not know the Lord or enter our Churches. Sometimes we do not have to physically go out. We can radiate the grace of God to those the Lord places within our sphere of influence, like our family members, our maids, our helpers and our peers.

We can be fishers of men and women even though we do not preach to others. A faithful Christian living out the Gospel in our daily lives provides the best attraction to people to at least inquire about the Lord Jesus. There are some who have done this in a big way. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta hardly preached to the non-Christian multitudes in India, but she gave a very attractive road to Christianity by her selfless service to the poorest of the poor. The honor given her in death by the people of India and by the mass media shows us what a powerful influence a life like Christ’s exerts in this consumeristic and strife-torn world. But we need not envy her. We also have our own mission where God has put us. Let us fish for people in our corner of the world.

The Disciples’ Vocation: The Gospel of St. John (see Jn.1, 35-50) teaches a number of lessons. For our purposes, two stand out. One is the personal nature of a call from Jesus Christ. He does not summon disciples as a faceless crowd but as unique individuals.“How do you know me?” Nathanael asks. “Before Philip called you,” Jesus answers, “I saw you under the fig tree.” He knows people’s personal histories, their strength, weaknesses and their destinies; he has a purpose in mind for each one.

In this week, Monday is a Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. On the 24th, we have the memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Patron Saint of journalists, writers and the deaf. The 25th is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Apostle and the 26th we celebrate the memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus. And the feast of the Angelic Doctor of the Church, St, Thomas Aquinas is on the 28th. This is all for now, watch for the next bulletin. By this time, I am on my second week of vacation. God bless!

Your Priest –Servant and Parochial Administrator,

Fr. Reggie