Column: At Once They Left Their Nets and Followed Him

There are some people who see an opportunity or a need before them, and they consistently react with decisiveness to take that opportunity and meet that need. Such people, I think, are quite few. Most of us can be responsive and decisive in doing what needs to be done some of the time. Very few of us can be like that all of the time. And so we wait. We procrastinate. Maybe the need will be resolved on its own or by someone else. Perhaps there are other, more pressing matters to attend to right now. After all, we need to prioritize, and we can’t do everything at once. We have to be smart about this. Sometimes, we have to put things off until tomorrow…

…and sometimes we have to say “yes” today, right here and right now.

Jesus is asking us to take part in the work of salvation, and it is a great dignity he is conferring on us in asking that we help Him. The work, however, is quite urgent. It isn’t simply a personal development project, but rather it has implications for all those closest to us, all those we meet, and potentially even many that we don’t meet. When we pray in the Our Father “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,” it is not simply a passive request, as if God’s Kingdom will simply wash over us. We are asked, by Jesus, to help build it.

It is no accident that our Gospel today about the call of Jesus’ closest followers is often tied in with vocations, as it demonstrates the basic truth that God calls, and we can, in turn, respond resolutely, or half-heartedly, or not at all. So do we take our vocational calls seriously? Is married life an example of loving our spouses and children into heaven and providing a witness to God’s love here on earth in the meantime? Is the vocation to priesthood something which is encouraged and modeled well in our parish (I certainly hope so, in spite of our failings!)? Is consecrated life, living in total devotion to God and His Church, seen as a viable way to live out a life full of love and fulfillment? Perhaps most importantly, is each and every person, regardless of where they may find themselves with respect to “vocation,” seeking to live out a life of holiness in whatever way God, in His providence, is asking of them?

We know the names of Mary and Joseph because they both promptly said yes to God. We know of Peter & Andrew and James & John because they immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. We do not know the names of the innumerable people called by Jesus but who did not follow right away. Let us share in that same spirit of saying yes to the call of Jesus, both here today, and every day.