Come After Me
Piety
Brothers and sisters: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The Scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame. Romans 10:9-11
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20
Study
What Does It Say:
According to the notes in the NABRE, to confess Jesus as Lord was frequently quite hazardous in the first century. "For a Jew, it could mean disruption of normal familial and other social relationships, including great economic sacrifice. In the face of penalties imposed by the secular world, Christians are assured that no one who believes in Jesus will be put to shame."
Think about that the next ad you see that promises you to look younger, get richer, or become loved by all. Christ did not offer a great marketing proposition. Is it any wonder why G.K. Chesterton posited his famous line: “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”[i]
Despite the ominous warning, the gospel has been and continues to be proclaimed to Israel and to the Church in the Modern World. Israel has adequately understood God’s plan for the messianic age, which would see the gospel brought to the uttermost parts of the earth. Even today, preaching the Good News can be hazardous to your health. As often in the past, neither Israel nor the modern world accepts the prophetic message.
What Does it Mean:
The call of the first disciples promises them a share in Jesus’ work and entails the abandonment of family and former way of life. Three of the four, Simon, James, and John, are distinguished among the disciples by a closer relationship with Jesus (which is a great thing). They accompany Jesus to the heights of his ministry, to the Transfiguration, but also to the lowest points – his betrayal, trial, and execution.
What Does It Matter:
There is no payoff…no positive quid pro quo. The share they get for their friendship and following and evangelism is a share in the suffering of Jesus. First, they share his suffering and death. Then, they share the rejection of the community.
But it is worth repeating, and repeating, and repeating, and repeating the protagonist of the Christian life and the Bible is God - not you or me. This is not really about our call nor our obedience. Don’t think today’s feast is merely about how we can be like Andrew.
According to a reflection in “Be the Change” by Jason Valendy, he puts forth an alternative viewpoint. Valendy notes that when we hear Jesus calling the disciples we notice how obedient the disciples are or how quickly they abandon their tasks to follow Jesus. That might lead us to think that the Good News is about how we need to abandon our lives and immediately follow Jesus. That would not be a bad conclusion. Perhaps we do that more. However, he points out, that is not the Good News. Jesus is the Good News. And if we preach the Good News then we need to preach Jesus. [ii]
In a world that is set up to encourage the students to seek out the teachers Jesus inverts that and as the teacher he seeks out the students. The Good News is, in part, the fact that God in Jesus Christ seeks, finds and calls us. We get to respond. And as the one who is doing the main action, God is the protagonist in our lives.[iii]
Action
How is God the protagonist in your life? If Jesus showed up at your house or your job, what would he teach you? How would you respond?
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