Fr Marco Lazzaron
he evangelist Mark gives us a short account of the calling of the first disciples. Jesus “saw Peter and Andrew casting their nets.” It all starts with the Lord’s gaze. It is not they who see Him (as in John’s Gospel), but He who sees them. Dear reader, God notices you before you can even remotely think of Him. Do not judge when you see men and women who are distant or indifferent to the faith: God already has his eyes fixed on them.
I’ve always wondered: What did Jesus see in those two fishermen? He was looking for disciples, why didn’t he go near the rabbinical schools of the time? He would have found people who were educated, or theologically prepared. After all, Peter and Andrew were simply doing their job, which had nothing to do with what they were going to do. And Jesus makes a promise to them: “I will make you fishers of men”. The disciples will continue to fish, to work, they will continue to have relationships with their families but they trusted God, and He took them where they would never have gone on their own. God has done great things with them because they did not want to decide for them. In this sense, their lives no longer belonged to them but to Someone else. To give oneself to God is not to accomplish something or become something, but to let oneself be carried away and to be shaped by Him.
“Follow me,” Jesus says. Jesus never gave solutions, or practices to follow, he never told what to do or what not to do. Jesus offers you a path. Jesus did not give a catechesis. He only said, “Come after me.” That is, “Stay with me for a while, come to my house, listen to what I say, watch what I do.” Christianity is precisely “being with Him”, enjoying this encounter.
“I will make you fishers of men.” Why does Jesus call them to become fishers of men and not shepherds, or guides? To catch a fish is to kill it, for one’s own sake, to eat. Fishing for a man means saving him from death because water is a hostile environment for man and to “fish” a man is to do something for his interest. Peter, and Andrew, until now have lived for their own sake. Now they will live with others in mind, to give life to others.
I’ve always wondered why they followed the Lord. I believe simply because they felt loved, they felt “seen” by God and called by name. They have discovered that their happiness depends on being found by this gaze. Being seen is one of the deepest needs of the human soul because it emphasizes our uniqueness. Dear reader, God is looking after you, and you are important in God’s eyes.
The good news this Sunday? God has drawn near, he is accessible. We don’t have to make an effort, nor do we have to deserve it. God is only to be welcomed.