"COME AFTER ME."

Homily for January 11^th, 2021: Mark 1:14-20.

“Come after me,” Jesus says to the 2 brothers, Simon and Andrew, busy with cleaning their nets after a night of fishing on the lake, “and I will make you fishers of men.” He says the same shortly thereafter to a second pair of brothers, also fishermen: James and John. “They left their nets and followed him,” Mark tells us. They were burning their bridges behind them. Why? If we could have asked them, I think they might have said something like this: “You would have to have known this man Jesus. There was something about him that made it impossible to say No.”

Jesus is still calling. He calls each one of us, as he called those four rough fishermen in today’s gospel. He calls us to walk with him, to be so full of his love that others will see the joy on our faces and want what we have. Christianity, it has been said, cannot be taught. It must be caught.

“I could never do that,” you’re thinking? You’re wrong. Here is a list of some of the great people in the Bible. Someone, I no longer know who, sent it to me by e-mail. Every one of them had a reason for thinking God could not use them. So, the next time you feel like God can’t use you, remember:

Noah was a drunk. Abraham was too old. Isaac was a daydreamer. Jacob was a liar. Joseph was abused by his brothers. Moses had a stuttering problem. Gideon was afraid. Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer. Rahab was a prostitute. Jeremiah and Timothy both thought they were too young. David had an affair and was a murderer. Elijah was suicidal. Isaiah thought himself unworthy. Jonah ran away from God's call. Job went bankrupt. Martha was a perpetual worrier. The Samaritan woman at the well was five times divorced. Zacchaeus was too small: he had to climb a tree to see Jesus. Peter denied Christ. The disciples fell asleep while praying. At Jesus’ arrest, they all forsook him and fled. Paul was too religious. Timothy had an ulcer. And Lazarus was dead! 

So, what’s your excuse? Whatever it may be, God can still use you to your full potential. Besides, you aren’t the message. You’re only the messenger. As St. Francis of Assisi said: “Preach always. When necessary, use words.”