From: Matthew 4:18-22

The First Disciples Called

[18] As He (Jesus) walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon
who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they
were fishermen. [19] And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fi-
shers of men.” [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. [21] And
going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and
John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and
He called them. [22] Immediately, they left the boat and their father, and fol-
lowed Him.

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Commentary:

18-22. These four disciples had already met our Lord (John 1:35-42), and their
brief meeting with Him seems to have had a powerful effect on their souls. In
this way Christ prepared their vocation, a fully effective vocation which moved
them to leave everything behind so as to follow Him and be His disciples. Stan-
ding out above their human defects (which the Gospels never conceal), we can
see the exemplary generosity and promptness of the Apostles in answering
God’s call.

The thoughtful reader cannot fail to be struck by the delightful simplicity with
which the evangelists describe the calling of these men in the midst of their
daily work.

“God draws us from the shadows of our ignorance, our groping through history,
and, no matter what our occupation in the world, He calls us in a loud voice, as
He once called Peter and Andrew” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By,” 45).

“This divine and human dialogue completely changed the lives of John and An-
drew, and Peter and James and so many others. It prepared their hearts to lis-
ten to the authoritative teaching which Jesus gave them beside the Sea of Gali-
lee” (”ibid”., 108).

We should notice the words of Sacred Scripture used to describe the alacrity
with which the Apostles follow our Lord. Peter and Andrew “immediately” left
their nets and followed Him. Similarly, James and John “immediately” left the
boats and their father and followed Him. God passes by and calls us. If we do
not answer Him “immediately”, He may continue on His way and we could lose
sight of Him. When God passes by, He may do so rapidly; it would be sad if we
were to fall behind because we wanted to follow Him while still carrying many
things that are only a dead weight and a nuisance.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading	Romans 10:9-18 ©

If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

But they will not ask his help unless they believe in him, and they will not believe in him unless they have heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but as scripture says: The footsteps of those who bring good news are a welcome sound. Not everyone, of course, listens to the Good News. As Isaiah says: Lord, how many believed what we proclaimed? So faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ. Let me put the question: is it possible that they did not hear? Indeed they did; in the words of the psalm, their voice has gone out through all the earth, and their message to the ends of the world.

Psalm	Psalm 18:8-11 ©