When I entered basic training, I was
warned never to volunteer for anything or respond to a request for volunteers.
It was common for a drill sergeant to “ask” unwitting recruits for “volunteers”
for duties that appeared to be easier than what was originally planned. Invariably,
these jobs never turned out to easy. In time we learned to avoid eye contact with
the inviting sergeant and stand way in the back of the formation to hide and
avoid being “volunteered.” Matthew’s (Matthew 4:12-23 )account of how Peter, Andrew, James and
John immediately responded to Jesus invitation reminded me of my time in basic
training. I’m always amazed as to how quickly the disciples dropped everything
and just followed Jesus. I wonder how I would respond to a request from a stranger who asked me to stop what I was
doing and follow him. I think I would have tried to avoid eye contact, and if
asked to volunteer, make some excuse or at least ask for some time to think
about it. After all, how could I possibly stop what I’m doing right now? It's too important. Maybe later.
Could we drop everything, leave our
families and communities, and follow someone we didn’t even know? Both Matthew
and Mark emphasize the word “immediately to describe the new recruits’ snap
decision. Snap decisions are not always good, but sometimes they are. I think
we all have made snap decision that turned out really well. Don’t we sometimes
wonder what prompted those decisions?
And so what does Matthew’s
Gospel mean to us? Does it mean leaving behind the promise of a steady income
in a successful family business? Or, maybe its letting go of things that hold us
bound - as symbolized by the fisherman’s nets in our story. It can be any
manner of things and will vary from one person to another. While Jesus does not
ask everyone to leave everything behind, no one can be a disciple and follow
His call to repent without leaving
something behind, or without letting go of the nets that keep us ensnared.
Jesus is calling us to a new way of
life and asking us to “repent,” or turn the focus of our lives to being God
centered. At its most basic level, discipleship means saying “yes” to Jesus and
following him wherever he leads. There are times we try to run away and go back
to where we were before but like the young recruit trying to be invisible, we
can’t hide in the back out of sight. Jesus is relentless, and as often as we
try to run and hide, he will find us.
With
regard to “snap decisions” or responding to what we are inspired to do, John
Powell writes There have been quite a
few times when I have felt the winds of God’s grace in the sails of my small
boat. Sometimes these graces have moved me in pleasant and sunlit directions.
At other times the requested acts of love were born in the darkness of struggle
and suffering. There have been spring times and there have been long cold
winters of struggle for survival. God has come to me at times with the purest
kindness, at times with the most affirming encouragement, and at other times
with bold frightening challenges. I think that all of us have to watch and
pray, to be ready to say “yes” when God’s language is concrete and his request
is specific-“yes” in the sunlit spring times and “yes’ in the darkness of
winter nights.
(John Powell, S.J.,
The Christian Vision, The Truth That Sets Us Free, p147)
0 comments:
Post a Comment