Answering the call to discipleship will shape our lives

In the New Testament, it is noteworthy that Jesus calls people to be His disciples in very differing situations.  Sometimes the call comes in ordinary, everyday circumstances; sometimes it comes in unusual circumstances. 

The responses to these calls also differ–some of those called change their lives completely and become His full-time companions.  Others respond in one or a few situations then return to living their ordinary lives.  In their ordinary way of life, of course, they can continue to serve Him.

In the first chapter of Mark, we read the account of the call given to the first disciples.  The men called are not engaged in prayer.  They are not in the temple at the time of their call.  They are not helping those who need help.  Instead, they are at their daily work of fishing and mending their nets as needed. 

Fishing and mending nets would seem to be an unlikely setting for a call to be Jesus’ disciples, but the Gospel shows us otherwise.  Mark said, “As He passed by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea for they were fishermen.  Jesus said to them:  ‘Come, after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’  Then they abandoned their nets and followed Him.  He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee and his brother John.  They too were in a boat mending their nets.  Then He called them.  So they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat along with the hired men and followed Him.”

And so Simon and Andrew and James and John changed their whole lifestyles in response to the call of Jesus. They probably did not realize what following Him would entail for them, but they stepped out in faith and became His disciples.
 
The call of Matthew is similar in some ways.  Matthew is at his usual–and despised–task of collecting taxes for the Romans when his call comes. The Jews deeply resented the Romans who had taken over the rule of their country and imposed taxes on them that were then added to the Roman coffer.  They also resented any of their fellow Jews who cooperated with the Romans.  Yet, Jesus calls one of these last, and Matthew too becomes a disciple of Jesus.

The Gospel tells us very simply, “As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.  He said to him, ‘Follow me.’  And he got up and followed him.”

Very different is the account in John’s Gospel of the call of Andrew and an unnamed disciple.  They are called through the charismatic Jewish leader John the Baptist who points Jesus out to them, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Andrew and his companion, their curiosity aroused by this, begin to follow Jesus who turns to them, and without calling them directly, asks a pointed question, “What are you looking for?”

Their answer–and ours–to that question will set the tenure of their and our whole lives. It affords us an opportunity for reflection and prayer. Am I aware of a call of Jesus in my life to be His follower?  Let me reflect on my religious experiences in the light of the vocation calls in this article and see which seem to be most like a call to me to serve God. What do I understand by a call to serve God?  Let me pray to know how I can best serve God in my present life situation, then put that into practice in the light of some of the accounts of Scriptural calls.