When Sr. Esther Fangman welcomed us at the beginning of mass
on Sunday, she noted that it is not surprising that Jesus called fishermen to
be his disciples, because people who fish typically have lots of time to
meditate. Meditation provides time to listen to what God may be saying to
us—and indeed, when Simon and Andrew heard Jesus say, “Come follow me,” they
abandoned their nets and followed him.
I was struck by that term “abandoned their nets” in Mark’s
gospel. Fishing was what Andrew and Simon had always known; it was their
livelihood, and they were good at it. Yet they were able to abandon that safety
net, so to speak, when God asked them to do something different.
We all have safety nets—they may be skills, bank accounts,
relationships, beliefs, or typical ways of dealing with life. Safety nets can be
helpful in navigating our world, but when we grow to depend on them instead of
God, they can keep us from hearing and responding to the new life to which God
calls us. If we, too, are to answer God’s call to be fishers of people, it
appears we must take time for prayer/meditation and be willing to abandon our old
ways of being, represented by our safety nets.
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