Gospel Reflection for The 21st day of January in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
Mark 1:14-20
14 And after that John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying: The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel.
16 And passing by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother, casting nets into the sea (for they were fishermen). 17 And Jesus said to them: Come after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18 And immediately leaving their nets, they followed him. 19 And going on from thence a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were mending their nets in the ship: 20 And forthwith he called them. And leaving their father Zebedee in the ship with his hired men, they followed him.
Today’s readings are all about repentance and commands to reform our lives now, not putting it off any longer. You may recall that in the Gospel of John, it describes Peter’s brother first believing in the Lord and telling Saint Peter that the Messiah had come. It tells us that Saint Peter rushed to Jesus and believed in Him immediately. But, in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls to Peter. One must wonder if perhaps Peter did, immediately believe, but went back to his life as a fisherman… did his faith waiver as was his nature? Or, is this simply another version of the same story?
Perhaps the mending nets is symbolic. I am an avid fisherman and I like to not only use a hook and a line, but I love fishing nets. Nets are very efficient means of fishing and they have a fascinating history. I enjoy tying my own fishing nets, often using ancient designs, some of which date back thousands of years. The ingenuity of man is very well demonstrated in the ways our ancestors figured out how to hunt, fish and survive before modern convenience. Today, just by coincidence (if there is such a thing), I just finished processing yucca fronds for fiber and I am making cordage which I will turn into a net bag, based on a 4,000+ year old Roman pattern. For a fisherman like Saint Peter, making and mending nets would have been a daily task. Perhaps he enjoyed the meditative aspects of the craft as do I. Perhaps it was just a necessary chore.
Regardless, Jesus appears and the quiet life of a fisherman is immediately suspended. However, as we read the Gospels, we will see Saint Peter fishing at other times and after the Crucifixion, he returns to this profession until Jesus calls him again. I think that fishing was a passion for Saint Peter, something comfortable and familiar and not just a profession. But, each time Jesus arrives He calls to Peter with immediacy, with urgency. We see Saint Peter even jump into the water and swim to Jesus and attempting to walk on water. Our Lord demands action now!
Why now? Well, as He explains in the parable of the rich man who laid up his treasure on earth, God may call us at any moment. “remember your death, oh man….” None of us is guaranteed another moment on this earth. We could die in our sleep or be in an auto accident on any day. NOW is the time to repent! This very moment is the time to answer God’s call. In the first reading, we hear of how even the residents of Nineveh immediately believed in the message of God and repented. Nineveh was known as a very wicked city. Yet, they responded to the prophet Jonah far more willingly than the religious Jews usually did when God sent prophets to them, and in stark contrast to when the Messiah appeared. We must be very careful not to become complacent and hard hearted. We can experience Jesus, in person at each Holy Mass. Mend your nets; be ready. When Jesus calls, be ready to answer, jump in and swim, walk on water, become fishers of men if called… do not put off for a moment, though, the call to repentance because you never know how many minutes you have left!
A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass readings January-June, 2024. may be purchased as a .pdf directly from me using this link https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-daily-catholic-devotional-reflections.html or in paperback on Amazon amazon.com/dp/B0CPD1DC7Q
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Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.