Discipleship

Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.

This weekend Jesus returns from the wilderness where he was baptized. Jesus is now launching his ministry by putting together his dream team of disciples who will go out and spread the good news in order to build the church by evangalizing. Jesus knows he will be handing his mission on to these 12.

This last week I received a call from Little Falls, New York. It was a mother of the bride looking for a priest to witness a marriage. The marriage was to take place in Cooperstown. Yes, near by the baseball hall of fame. Yes, that is right I thought I was getting my calling to be in the Hall of Fame. Probably would be the closest I will ever get. Can you belive it Little Falls, New York has a parish called St. Mary’s and another parish called Holy Family. I was told their was a polish parish in town also. I had to break the bad news to the mother of the bride that Cooperstown was a little out of my league.

I wonder what the disciples are thinking today as Jesus invites them to come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. As they abandoned their nets to follow Jesus. None of them have the expereince needed to preach and teach in order to catch large crowds of people. For the disciples this calling by Jesus must have been like the call that the Major League baseball players get when they get called into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

After all it is a sort of Hall of Fame being a disicple of Jesus. Jesus only picked 12 disciples to be close to him and form an inner circle. Simon, Andrew, James and John. These are quite some picks. Andrew was the first to follow Christ. Andrew is Inquistitive and Resourceful. Simon who was renamed Peter is Hot tempered, yet tender hearted. Peter can also be Insightful at times, but yet dense. Maybe that is why Jesus called him a Rock. James and John the son’s of Zebedee. Also known as the Sons of Thunder. They have the personality traits of being Vegeful and fiery. They are both selfish.

What I am pointing out here is each one of these four disciples have character and personality flaws. Yet, Jesus calls them to be his disciples. Jesus knows that while he is with these four disciples they are going to have a conversion. A conversion in growing closer to God. Jesus will ask them from time to time who Jesus is. Testing them to see if they recognize that Jesus is the Christ. That is the messiah.

Yes, we are broken people and so are these disciples.

Yes, we have character flaws just like the disciples.

Yes, we can change just like the disciples did in order to follow our Lord.

That is only if we allow oursevles to follow Jesus.

God sent Jesus into the world to teach us how to live.

Jesus is the perfect role modle for us.

We are to conform our lives to be more like Christ

These disciples- Simons, Andrew, James and John will need to change their attidudes.

Jesus will teach them to repent and believe in the gospel.

This will take an effort on our part.

Notice it is not all about me.

NO.

The disciples dropped their nets.

The people at Ninevah proclaimed a fast and changed their ways.

That is what it means to repent.

In Luke’s Gospel- Jesus tells us that I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.

Jesus also tells us that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

What does Jesus mean by this?

The person who repents has to make a greator conversion in order to be in a relationshiop with God compared to the ninety -nine that are already farther along in their relationship with God.

God wants us here at Mass for a reason.

It is all about the Eucharistic celbration.

It is about being in commuion with God. That is a realtionsip.

Receiving our Lord in the Eucharist is all about a relationship.

Yet, many of us seperate oursleves from God.

To the point of receiveing the Eucharist in the state of mortal sin.

That seperates us from God even more.

Sin is like that train that blocks us from being in connection with God on the other side of the tracks.

It causes great agony moving slowly or even stopping.

We need to reconcile oursleves to God by asking for forgivness by going to confession.

This Sunday God calls us to repent and believe in the Gospel.

Because we are called just like the first disciples to follow Christ who leads us to our Heavenly Father.

Just because last weekends homily was a powerful one does not mean that I have received my call into the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown anytime soon. My Dentist told me to tell you that I am a one out of ten. He said my x-rays are really impressive as he looked at my wisdom teeth. He told me I will be keeping my wisdom. He said that is not normal.

It is not all about me. It is not what I am desiring and wanting.

As a desciple God expects us to make an effort in order to be in a relatioship with him.

Even if we do not feel like being here at Mass with God.

God continues to call us to come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.