Jesus Said To Them, Follow Me And They Left Everything Just Like That!

Col. 1:9-14
Luke 5:1-11

In today’s first reading, Paul continues to praise and encourage the Christian community of the small town of Colossae for their faith, and in this way, he urges them to grow ever deeper in the faith they have and share. Furthermore, he reminds them that, through Christ, God has taken them out of darkness and forgiven them their sins making them children of light.

In today’s Gospel, the fishermen had already returned empty-handed after a whole night of fishing. What a waste of time and effort they must have felt! They need rest right now after such an all-night-long non-catching. We see Jesus calling this same fisherman; Simon Peter and his companions to be His followers. They do so after obeying Jesus’ instruction; they make a huge catch of fish on the lake, though they had caught nothing in the same water only a few hours before. Jesus then invites them to a much greater fishing task, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” And with great generosity and trust, “they brought their boats to land and followed Him, leaving everything behind. Is our response to Jesus’ call as complete and total as that of Simon Peter, and other disciples, if not, why not?

Can you recall instances when you worked so hard and in the end accomplished little or nothing? Can you remember how many times you have said it is a waste of time to follow Jesus? The most important thing in this passage is the complete and total response of Peter and his companions to Jesus’ call. They were prompt and obedient. That is the attitude that is expected of every Christian. We too must trust and obey God even when we don’t seem to understand the situation surrounding us. We must focus on the divine call, the call to repentance and holiness, the call to love and serve, the call to recognize and remember that we are God’s children having been baptized through His Son, May we have faith and trust in God as Simon and Andrew, James and John had in Christ and May God lead us to where His blessings abound. Amen.

Fr Joseph Osho