He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19).

Today’s Gospel account recalls Jesus calling of Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John. An interesting contextual point about this recollection is that Jesus was the one doing the calling. Spiritual teachers were common during the time of Jesus within and without of Judaism. What was common in those accounts were that the disciples came to the master. It was rarer that the master would search out and call his followers.

Another point that we can observe is that Jesus met the brothers in the midst of their everyday activities of fishing. Jesus came to them as they were working. The encounter with Jesus was not on some isolated mountain top, it was not at a gathering revival, nor at the temple or synagogue. Jesus met them in the midst of Simon and Andrew casting their nets and James and John mending theirs.

A third point we can gain from this short pericope is that Jesus immediately followed up his invitation to Simon and Andrew to come after him with the insistence that they will be fishers of people. They to are not going to enter their new apprenticeship with Jesus having the idea that they will wait for others to come to them. They will travel out of their comfort zones, literally, leaving their fishing businesses, their security, and trusting in Jesus as they learn about and share the Good News that the kingdom of God is at hand.

The three points above apply directly to us as well. Jesus invites us, we do not need to go looking for him. We just need to be open to receiving the invitation and saying yes as Simon, Andrew, James, and John had done. Jesus also meets us in our everyday moments. He encounters us in our workplace, among our interactions with family and friends, in our class and dorm rooms, as well as in our activities and leisure. Jesus often meets us in those unprepared for interruptions we experience. Jesus certainly meets us in our prayer, but if we have the desire to pray it is because he has already placed it there. Also, our time of prayer helps us slow down and become aware of his presence in our life, so that when we leave our times of prayer and worship, we will be more able to see him in the midst of our daily activities.

Finally, Jesus calls us to share what we have learned and experienced from our encounter with him. No matter how small. When we reach out in faith the Holy Spirit will provide the means. We will make mistakes, we will not be perfect, but if we are humble, we will learn and grow as his disciples. Remember who he called? Peter, Andrew, James, and John. There are four Gospels full of accounts of their false starts, gafs, and “Oops”. We grow and learn by doing. As we crawl, we will soon learn to walk, as we walk we will soon learn to run, and as we run, we will soon learn to fly!

We are not just to sit on the gifts Jesus has given us, we are not to wait for others to come up to ask us about our relationship with Jesus. We are to live our life and be open for opportunities to share our faith by accompanying those in our realm of influence through the normal means of interaction we have. Again, remembering first and foremost to do so in a way that respects the dignity of each person we encounter. One of the reasons the cause for canonization has recently been promoted for Nicholas Black Elk, a wicasa wakan, Lakota holy man, was that when he, like St Andrew whose feast we celebrate today, said yes to Jesus, he became a catechist, and 400 people came to believe in Jesus also. Let us say yes to Jesus’ invitation to come and follow him, and become fishers of people! St Andrew pray for us, Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk pray for us.

Photo: Source Marquette University Catholic Mission Archives. Nicholas Black Elk catechizing the children of Broken Nose.

Link for today’s Mass readings:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/113017.cfm