“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Today we hear Christ’s calling of the first four apostles, all fishermen. Living in Alaska, this Gospel reading strikes a little bit close to home. Having the title of “Alaskan” almost automatically gives us the title of “fishermen” as well, and hearing of other fishermen being asked to leave their nets behind seems wrong. I’m sure we all have fishing stories that are coming to mind. In fact, it’s probably a good thing that we hear this Gospel reading at this time of the liturgical year, because if it came up in the middle of summer, some of us may not hear it because——-we’d be gone fishing.
The truth is, though, that I’m not much of a fisherman. I’m more of a hunter. I’m just glad that none of the Apostles were hunters and had been asked to leave that behind. Today’s Gospel reading reminds me, instead, of one of our other deacons, Harry Moore. When we were in deacon formation together before our ordination, I remember when we found out who each of our patron saints were. When I was confirmed in sixth grade, I chose as my patron, St. Paul. I’m sure I didn’t know at the time the implications that my choice would have on me later in life. Harry, on the other hand having grown up a fisherman in Bristol Bay and coming into the Church as an adult through the RCIA was more cognizant of his choice of St. Peter. For a short time in the deacon formation community, we became known as Peter & Paul.
Early last summer, Harry was preparing to go out to Bristol Bay for the fishing season, when, due to an unfortunate accident at work that injured his knee, he had to have surgery and was unable to go fishing. I had to point out to him that, just maybe; once again, Peter was being asked to leave his nets behind. Maybe it was just a coincidence——-that was just my observation as a bystander. I only hope that we can both live up to some kind of resemblance of our patron saints, even just a little bit.
To those first four Apostles that we hear about today, Simon, Andrew, James & John, fishing was their livelihood, their way of life. That’s what they were doing when Jesus came into their lives and said, “Follow me.” And according to Matthew, those men dropped what they were doing, left everything they knew, and followed Jesus. Why? Matthew doesn’t tell us, but apparently, they saw in Jesus the presence of God. And their lives would never be the same again. They, along with the other eight to follow, carried on Christ’s message to others. They baptized. They healed, and they established the Church. And most of them were killed for it. But, because of those Apostles, and others like them who follow Jesus, the world would never be the same again.
“Come follow me.” Those words from Christ weren’t just for those first four Apostles, or the other eight. Those words are meant for us also. When we follow Christ, the same can be said of us as the Apostles: “the world will never be the same again.” In fact, every one of us has already changed the world. We’ve all changed the world for someone.
The Apostles in today’s Gospel remind me of the celebration we had here last summer of St. Michael’s 75th anniversary and how St. Michael’s, as well as Palmer, was founded by people who left everything they knew to travel to a far-off land and brought with them their faith. They carried on that apostolic tradition of spreading the Gospel. Even those that came after the first colonists; I remember when my family came to Alaska. I was eleven years old. We didn’t know anyone here. Alaska seemed a strange, far-off place. Oddly enough, we came to Alaska because my dad liked to fish———–and hunt. The fact that we’re all here today is proof that the “Good News” continues to spread, that people continue to answer that call to “Follow me”.
God has a plan for each and every one of us, and he has various ways to let us know his plans. It’s up to us to listen and be open to God’s call. The title “Christian” means more than that we believe in Christ. It should mean that we’re trying our best to follow Christ, to live as he lived, to forgive as he forgave, to resist violence and to treat everyone with dignity and respect, to visit those in prison. I had to put that important one in. If anyone would like to get involved in prison ministry, please see me after Mass.
It’s not enough to just call ourselves Christian. It’s not enough to have a t-shirt or a bumper sticker that says WWJD. Everyone should be able to see what Jesus would do by watching us.
“Come Follow Me.” That’s not a calling we answer just once in our life. It’s a choice we make every day. When we put our feet on the floor in the morning we have to decide, “Will these feet follow Jesus today?” “Will these feet walk in his footsteps?” And at the end of the day when we pick our feet back up off the floor, we have to ask ourselves, “Where did our feet take us today?” “Were they on the path Christ set before us?”
When Jesus called those four fishermen, they dropped everything and followed him. They had no idea what they were getting into, or where they were going. They didn’t know their world would be changed forever or how they would change the world for others. They simply, trusted Jesus, just as we must. When we answer that call to “Follow Me.” We too don’t know where Christ will take us, how he’ll change us, but we can be certain God will use us to change our corner of the world, wherever that leads us.
When others see how we live our lives, how we behave, how we work & play, how we treat our family & friends, how we treat our enemies and everyone God puts in our path, they will know that we not only believe in Christ, but that we are followers of Christ. That’s what it means to be Christian, and we can then use the title “Fishers of Men.”