Fishers of Men!

Monday, January 13, 2025

Heb 1:1-6; Mk 1:14-20

Today’s Gospel highlights the beginning of Jesus’ Galilean ministry, which starts with his Kingdom proclamation and the calling of his first disciples. 

There are some points that need highlighting. 

1.Repentance Proclaimed by Jesus: Jesus did not come to preach a religion that makes us ‘feel’ good; rather, he came preaching a religion that inspires us to ‘be’ good. Hence, Jesus’ call to repentance is toward a resolute action. 

2. Disciples at Work: Jesus finds his first disciples at work: fishing and mending their nets. The symbolic act suggests that these disciples will be found at the work of God’s Kingdom later in their lives. In calling the fishermen who were rough and uneducated, Jesus did not look at their external appearance but saw through to who they could become as his disciples. 

3. Spontaneous Response to the Call: The call of Jesus is straightforward, and therefore it should be honored with a straightforward response too. The call of Jesus is so powerful that the disciples respond by leaving everything behind to follow him. Christian vocation is about plunging into action. 

Let us pray that we may generously respond to the initiative of God in our lives. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar