Fishers of People

“Come follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” ~ Jesus the Christ


In today’s gospel of Mark, we see the urgency that is present. Jesus is a man of action in this Gospel. The word immediately appears constantly—in these six verses, we see it twice. Immediately, the fishermen leave their nets and their father and follow Jesus.

One interesting aspect of this story is that Jesus does not ask them to stop being fisherman; instead he changes the catch. From now on, they will not be looking for fish. Does God do that with us too in our vocations? Does God ask us to be present in whatever task we do to the duty of catching people? I am not particularly evangelical in my faith. I just try to live it out and hope that people see something appealing.

My workplace is somewhat in shambles and I have begun to wonder anew about what is my task there as a Christian. We had an incident happen on Friday that was painful for one of the staff –the one with whom I have been at odds. I still feel badly for her though. I heard via a colleague that she cried all the way home. May grace penetrate and enlighten her so that she can see the lessons that might be gleaned.

What about you? Is there anything in your life that you would immediately leave given the opportunity to do something greater? What or who would compel you to do that? Sometimes it is helpful to know so that we are not deceived by something or someone that is not worth leaving everything and everyone for.

Peace,

Suzanne