The Gospel passages of Mark 1:14-20 show us that Jesus’ opening words to Peter and Andrew seem to have a strange explosiveness. They apparently nothing about Jesus. They had no idea where they where going – or when, if ever, they would return. They take Jesus’ words and seem not to look back. The words struck with such power and urgency that they dropped their fishing nets, left their boats and went with Jesus.
The Gospel writer did not record what else Jesus may have said to Peter and Andrew at that first meeting. Instead he felt it sufficient to give us only the one critical sentence that opened their hearts and minds to Jesus’ extraordinary power: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
Those words alone have two qualities that make them so powerful and persuasive. They were at once very public and yet very personal. They are public because they foreshadow the formation of a number of followers. They are personal because the call to Peter and Andrew reaches the level of person to person – an invitation.
Jesus had noticed Peter and Andrew with their nets and in the business of fishing, a very common occupation at that time and place. But he must have seen more in them that told him what they might do. Both men had probably fished all their lives. He saw that any attempt to persuade them to abandon their careers and pick another had to have special favor – and it did! He saw they fished one way now and that they might fish another way in time to come. What Jesus did was to turn their present into their future. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
Jesus’ call to Peter and Andrew revealed his sure grasp of how persons are put together and how to trigger those deep meanings that put them into action. Indeed, the call of these disciples is a particular summons that Jesus issues to specific individuals. I think the power comes from the fact that Jesus asks them to share intimately in his life and to carry out his work.
When Jesus called Andrew and Peter to ministry, he spoke to them in terms they understood. They had been fishing for fish, they would now be fishing for people. This is more than simply clever language. Jesus was telling them they had been recognized for their potential. Had they been farmers, Jesus might have spoken about “reaping” or “harvesting.” The first disciples were called within the context of what they knew best. He saw where they were and instilled a sense of where they were going. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
Most important of all, is that this was a call to action. The first disciples were characterized by a sense of urgency. They felt there was no time to lose in spreading the word that the Messiah was in their midst. They had good news to share – God loves, cares, and takes care of his people. The good news traveled fast! People came from far and wide to experience the healing power of the Messiah.
And this is a call to action for each of us, too. Just as the disciples were committed to do something about spreading the good news, we are called in the same way. Our journey of faith needs to move forward. We need to cut across special interests; we need to put away those things that make us too cautious; we need to move past the things that say “go along with the crowd” and “don’t rock the boat.”
The whole point of the Gospels is to recognize that the God we see in Jesus is radically different from anything the world can offer us and restores us to genuine humanness. This good news leads us to accept the call of Jesus, to reflect it in our own life and work.
This is the time of fulfillment. It is our time to be “fishers of men.” It is a time of urgency. Jesus still seeks us out where we are and bids us to move from there to discipleship, just as he did with Andrew and Peter.
Even as we meet for worship each Sunday morning, we share a common faith, common prayer, common liturgy, and common concern. Yet, the way it speaks to each of us is an individual matter. This way a hymn, a passage of scripture, receiving the body and blood of Christ speaks is as individual and unique as we are and moves us to action.
Jesus’ call to each of us is as unique as the call of Peter and Andrew. Each response to the invitation is unique. When you, in your own time and in your own way, feel and hear the call to discipleship, you can follow him and commit yourself to him. Then you can feel the urgency of the Gospel message. You can “rock the boat” and take risks for faith’s sake. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Our mission is to cast our nets to “fish for souls.” If we are faithful, our nets will be full and we will be fulfilled.
Source: © The Rev. Peter Groschner, January 25, 2015. Mark 1:14-20. Reprinted with permission from the author.