Isaiah 8:23-9:3;  1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17;  Matthew 4:12-23.
January 22 & 23, 2011
Sr. Phyllis Jaszkowiak


Today’s Gospel tells us how to achieve unity, live in light, joy and freedom.  It tells us the need for repentance or turning around, letting go and following Jesus.

To repent or turn around, means to change our mind set, our way of acting, our traditions that we hold on to too tightly.  If we don’t change, we don’t let in new information, or new ways of looking at things.  A lot of times we become too preoccupied with the ups and downs of life that we forget to reflect on how God is working in the ordinary everyday happenings of our lives.

This is the repentance spoken of in today’s Gospel, being willing to turn away from present preoccupations to entertain a more risky but adventuresome possibility, to become conscious of a deeper dimension of life, the spiritual sea in which all people swim.

Jesus called some fishermen, Simon, Andrew, James and John, and invited them to follow him.  Since Jesus was such a fascinating person, people wanted to know him, to be with him, to see what made him tick so they could imitate him, in their own lives.  So in today’s Gospel, the fishermen left their nets and their families and followed him immediately.

I suspect that these four disciples, after the first joyous excitement wore off, had to take some time to discern their call to follow Jesus – especially with their wives.

In my own life, my following of Jesus did not happen immediately.  It took me four years to work through the turning around and the letting go, in order to follow Jesus as God wanted me to follow him.

This invitation by Jesus to follow him is not a one time thing, and it is meant for all Christians.  We are called, then called on a deeper level, and called again.  In living this call we are called to grow, let go of what we were previously, and to fall ever more deeply into the arms of God.

Letting go is a hard act.  It requires an open mind, a generous heart, and a free spirit.  Sometimes, though, life presses us so hard that becoming open minded, or generous, or free, seems impossible.

As both my father and mother neared their deaths, I watched as they let go.  First it was letting go of the home they had built and lived in for 50 years.  Then came letting go of tools for Dad, and cooking dishes and recipes for Mom.  Then came the letting go of their remaining health, the letting go of being able to control their own finances, and finally the letting go of control of their bodies.

It was a lessen for me not to hold onto anything very tightly, for it all changes, either slowly or rapidly.  My Dad and Mom let go first with resistance, then with grace and ease.  Throughout our lives we practice small surrenders, so when we need to let go of needing to be right, or control, or our own ideas and convictions, we can do so with peace and trust.

This letting go enables us, to see more clearly how God acts through and in us, what is holding us back, and how to move forward.

If we continue to repent or turn around, to let go of all that holds us back, and to follow Jesus, we become those people that attract others.  The people today, who are in the Rite of Welcome, have declared they want to follow Jesus because someone, one who was Jesus-like, attracted them.

So, let us repent or turn around, let go and follow Jesus so we will become, or continue to be, Jesus for others.  Then Jesus, through us, can continue to call disciples to do his work here on earth.