Today as we celebrate the life of St Andrew, Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (4:18-22) in which Jesus calls the fishermen, Simon and Andrew (who were brothers) and Zebedee’s sons James and John.
Fr Paul, continuing to read from the ‘Heart of the Disciple’ booklet* for our daily reflections, says the text for today reminds us that Jesus has come to establish a new kingdom – at the heart of which is the proclamation of the good news. But what is the ‘good news’? If we take this text as a starting point, the good news begins with understanding that God has a plan to bring about his kingdom and that you are being invited to be part of it. It begins with the invitation to come and follow. To receive this invitation, we must be ready to allow the word of God to open our minds and hearts, and to be prepared to leave behind those things that hold us back. This is a personal call for each of us – a call to follow Jesus. This includes learning to leave behind the unnecessary and to focus only on the important. If we have not allowed the words ‘follow me’ to sink into our hearts in the past, now is the time to let it happen. Even it we have tried to respond in the past, today the invitation is set out anew. This is our journey of faith, to listen each day, ready to follow once more. Each of us is invited into Jesus’ mission, but we cannot do this alone. We must always be open to hearing God’s word calling us into ever deeper relationship and intimacy with God, and to a renewed sharing in the mission of God. As disciples, we are called to live the life of Jesus, and reach out to those who are lost, lonely or last. Yet, we are not to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. Pope Francis directs us to “look at those first disciples, who, immediately after encountering the gaze of Jesus, went forth to proclaim him joyfully: ‘We have found the Messiah!’ (John 4)” (EG 120). These were ordinary people, made extraordinary by their willingness to say ‘yes’ to the invitation of Jesus. Our challenge is to allow our encounter with Jesus to really transform us, to penetrate our hearts, so we are able to offer everyone the life of Christ. You have been invited to inaugurate a new and deeper way of living that leads into the mission of Jesus. That mission involves reaching out to those in need of hope and encouragement. Pope Francis states, “I never tire of repeating those words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the Gospel: ‘Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction’”(EF 7). For our reflection today, Do I experience my faith as ‘good news’? And how is that good news expressed in my life? And today we pray: God of love and mercy, You invite me to share your mission of bringing love and healing to others Forgive me for the times I might get a little lost along the way. Always give me the grace to find you again, That I might again reveal your love and mercy to others. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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