Homily of the Day

Jesus went about his mission of proclaiming the Good News. He encouraged his listeners to change their ways and believe in the Good News. Because he needed help to fulfill his mission, he recruited the first four people to assist him: Simon, Andrew, James and John.

William Barclay, in The Gospel of Mark, suggests that possibly the four men had already been listening to Jesus preach in the area so they probably had been mulling over what Jesus had been saying. They responded when Jesus personally invited them. Notice that the four men left behind what was very important to them before they encountered Jesus — family and occupation.. There seems to be a lot of “leaving behind” as we follow Jesus.

The letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is the very image of God. As we see Jesus, we are seeing God. As we get to know Jesus, we get to know God. As we follow Jesus, we are following God. As we observe how Jesus loves the people he met, we also get to understand how God loves us.

Let us reflect: Is Jesus inviting me to help fulfill his mission to bring about justice, mercy, love and hope? He may not be asking me to leave behind my family and my occupation but what is he asking me to share for the sake of his mission — my knowledge? my skills? my presence? my compassion? my time? With which larger community would he want me to share my resources? He waits for my response.

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