Listen To The Call !

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.

Today is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. He was Peter's older brother and very close to Jesus.  He was called from his vocation as a fisherman to become a fisher of men. He went on to teach and preach in the Black Sea area including Georgia and Romania. He was martyred by being crucified on an "X" shaped cross, the exact date is not known but it is believed he died in the mid to late first century AD. 

I have always found it amazing that when the apostles were called, that they dropped everything and followed Jesus. You have to wonder as well why Jesus picked these twelve very ordinary men?  Today we advertise an open position and collect resumes, interview acceptable candidates once, twice, and maybe even three times. We meet with our supervisors and discuss the applicants and decide on the one that absolutely most closely fits the position. This is not how Jesus operated. You would think that he would have scoured the temple and picked the wisest of the teachers and rabbis that he could find there.  But no, he picked fisherman and even a tax collector and he picked one man that he knew would betray him. He started with a team that was first of all pious.  They would have been men that followed their religion.  They would have been trained by their fathers in the ways of Yahweh and the Law.  But formal training, the kind that the leaders of the temple would have had, would not be for them.  So, Jesus would have a team of men with what we might term as an eighth-grade education, they would know just enough to keep themselves out of trouble.  Jesus was starting with a blank canvas and through the next three years what beautiful works he would make of these twelve ordinary people of the earth.  One canvas, no less beautiful than the others, would become torn when he betrayed the Lord, but even this was planned for and expected. 

We too are called by Jesus and once again he could have chosen another, wiser, smarter, better-looking person than you or I but he didn't.  Just as He did with the twelve he chose us because of who we are and not because of what we know or who we knew or what levels of education we had.  Some of us would be better schooled than others, but some of the others would have gifts and talents that could not be acquired in any school and He would use them too.  Our calling to be a fisher of men has been issued just as it was to the first twelve.  We must open our ears to hear the call.  We must also train our hearing to drown out the siren call of sin which could drive us into the rocks and sink us.  We must open our hearts to the call of the Lord.  There is no purpose on earth greater than to be a disciple of Jesus and to work for the kingdom.  There is no job that pays better or has better benefits or a better retirement plan!  We can start small.  Small is okay because being kind to another sometimes is the way people are led to Christ.  Preach with your actions before you preach using words.  Be of good cheer in all of the circumstances you find yourself in, as hard as that is to do, remembering that the things of this world are passing and temporary while our place in heaven will be forever. 

To Do Today:  Pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. 

Head in the Clouds

They said, "Men of Galilee,

why are you standing there looking at the sky?

This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven 

will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.

The apostles, now down to eleven because one of them betrayed the Lord and had committed suicide were once again confused, scared, and not sure what was going to happen next.  They had been instructed to return to Jerusalem and to wait.  They could not get back to that upper room fast enough. Their Lord and Savior had once again left them, they felt alone and afraid. 

They had seen Jesus ascend upwards towards heaven and they watched until they could see Him no more.  They stared into the sky and then He was gone.  They watched a bit longer and then two men dressed in snow-white garments appeared and told them to get a move on, that Jesus would return in the same way as they had seen Him leave.  

They were in the same room where not long ago, the Lord washed their feet and told them that to be a leader, one had to be willing to be a servant to all. He gave them a great example of His love that night. He took the form of a slave and washed their feet. Then He gave them for all-time His most Sacred Body, Blood,  Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist.  He followed this up the very next day by completing the Passover feast by drinking the fourth cup of wine on the Cross, taking upon his soul the sins of all. 

Now, the apostles were doing what they did best, they were waiting and praying.  They did not know what was going to happen next but they followed instructions and were waiting in that upper room. 

We too sometimes find ourselves locked away in our rooms waiting. We pray and wait for the Lord to answer our prayer, to give us our marching orders. It is okay to wait and listen.  But we must be ready to throw open the door to our upper room and be ready to advance once those orders have been received.  We know what happened to the Apostles, Pentecost happened.  When the time came, with the help of the Holy Spirit they threw off the shackles of fear and boldly proclaimed the Word of God.

Next week is Pentecost Sunday.  Let us spend the seven days between now and then, praying and getting ready to give to the world what it needs, Jesus.  The two men in white were sent to stir up the apostles and set them on the path that the Lord wanted them to follow.   They speak to us today as well.  Prepare ye the way of the Lord!