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The Decisive Encounter

Jesus’s call of the first disciples is truly an amazing story. These men left the life they knew, left everything behind to follow this man. They had no idea where they were going or what they were getting themselves into. They had no idea that for all of them, except one, this decision would cost them their lives. All that they knew was him, was Jesus. What is it about Jesus that drew them in and draws us in, to this very day? What about Jesus makes his call the decisive encounter?

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

As he 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. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 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. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. Matthew 4 : 18-22

Scriptural Analysis


The Sea Of Galilee and Surrounding Towns

The Sea of Galilee is a lake about 13 miles north to south and about 7 miles across at its widest point. It rains in the winter which leads to stunning beauty in the springtime after the rain subsides. The towns around the sea are the focus of Jesus’s early public ministry.

Jesus’s call reaches these men while they are fishing. We are not to have the image in our mind of recreational fishing that most of us are familiar with. These were professional fisherman working. This was how they made their living. Their nets were circular with weights around the permitter. They were thrown into the water from a standing position. They were designed to catch large shoals of fish which would then be sold in the market. This was hard, dirty, physical labor that these men were enaged in.

Simon and his brother Andrew were the first two men to be called by Jesus. This had to have been remarkable scene. In Jewish tradition, usually the student chose the Rabbi they wanted to study under: the Rabbi did not choose the student. Therefore, Jesus, by selecting the men, is taking a new and unconventional approach in gathering disciples. What is more stunning is the haste with which they drop everything to follow him. His promise is to make them fishers of men. Jesus’s disciples will not study his teachings but rather, like him, call people to salvation through Christ.

A second call goes out to James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They also respond to Jesus immediately, without hesitation. They not only have their profession to leave behid but they have the additional burden of leaving behind their father. Thus they break not only with their livelihood but also with their familial relationships.

Daily Application

Matthew’s account of the calling of the first four disciples, given to us to commemorate Saint Andrew, should leave us in awe. We should stop, and try to picture ourselves in this scene. Here these men are, engaged in their trade, and some random Jewish Rabbi comes along and calls out to them. There is no hesitation in their response, no hem hawing around. It was an immediate and decisive YES, to following Jesus.

What was it about Jesus, about his call that made these men respond so quickly and definitively? Was there something else he said that Matthew did not record? Was there a tone to his voice that drew them in? Did Jesus look at them with a glance that pierced right to their very soul? Whatever it was, something in that moment freed these men to leave behind everything they knew for the great unknown of following Jesus.

In his masterful encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” This idea is so beautifully on display in the calling of these first four Apostles. Jesus did not present a long philosophical treatise or well-thought-out argument as to why these men should follow him. There was no deliberation on the part of the first disciples: no pros and cons list was created. There was an encounter with a person, Jesus Christ, and that changed the trajectory of their lives forever.

Fundamentally, Christianity is about relationships. At the end of the day, what sets Christianity apart from many other religions is the focus on the relationship with Christ. Yes, there are doctrines and dogmas, cannon law, and a rich and develop theology. However, all of that is meerly an expression of the truth and truth itself is a person, Jesus Christ. All the teachings of the Church ultimately point back to Jesus Christ.

If we want to rechristianize the west and spread the Gospel to the entire world, we can never lose sight of the relational aspect of the faith. Spouting doctrine of theology to people, as important as that it, will not get them to change, to repent and follow Jesus. Providing them with an opportunity to encounter Jesus, that is what will change minds and win hearts. We must focus our efforts on providing opportunities for people to have that decisive encounter. That is what drew Saint Andrew to Jesus. That is what draws all of us to Jesus.

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