Reflection for November 30, Saturday; Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle: Matthew 4:18-22

Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22

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.

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Reflection:

Are you ready to respond to Jesus’ call?

Jesus called ordinary fishermen to help Him advance the gospel, ordinary folks just like you and me. What is striking  in the gospel reading is their immediate response to the call of Jesus. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew they immediately left their nets (their livelihood) and they both became a follower of Jesus.

The same occurrence happened when Jesus called the brothers Zebedee and John. Upon hearing the call of Jesus they left their boat and their father to immediately become a follower. 

Let us take a closer look at the gospel for today because this is for us also. The four of them were ordinary fishermen, they were expert with their craft but they have no formal education about the faith. 

What does this mean to us? This simply means that a formal education about the faith is not a requirement to become an effective follower. What is important is the desire and willingness to respond to Jesus. For as long as we are ready to respond we all can have a humble role in the mission of Jesus. 

Let us not worry if we have no formal education about our faith because this is not the requirement of Jesus. What Jesus wants from us first is for us to respond to His call, this is perhaps the first requirement responsiveness to His call. 

Jesus is always calling us to follow Him every second, every minute and hour that pass by. Let us respond to this call of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas