Enriching All Who Call November 30

There is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. Romans 10:11-12

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:19-20

Piety

Jesus, help me to pay attention today. Untangle me from the nets that have captured my life. Your gift of another sunrise and another morning means I have another chance to show you what I can do with that gift. Help me to see you in each person that I encounter today – those I see up close and personal and those I see from afar. Let my example help them draw closer to you. Amen.

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/113006.shtml

What exactly did Jesus say today? Was it…

Come after me and I will make you fishers of Jews. No.
Come after me and I will make you fishers of Gentiles. No.
Come after me and I will make you fishers of Greeks. No.
Come after me and I will make you fishers of Americans. No.
Come after me and I will make you fishers of men. Yes!

What did Jesus mean today?

He wants us to be "fishers" of all humanity. All genders. All races.

Yesterday, in Revelation 15, we learned, “All the nations will come and worship before you.” From Daniel 7 last Sunday, the lesson was that “All peoples, nations, and languages serve him.” Today in Romans, the universal nature of God’s love is reinforced. And Matthew reminds us that Jesus calls us to preach to all people.

Why does this all matter?

God looks out for us…but not us alone. God ALSO is looking out for the people all around His globe. In Haiti, Palestine, Estonia, Sudan, and even in the Afghanistan, Iraq, Cuba and North Korea. And everyplace in between. Even places where the missionaries of the Church might not yet have reached with His Word.

We’ve had political wars before and now our former “enemies” in those conflicts are our allies. God did not take a break from loving them when they had a dust up with us. He didn’t take a break from loving us when we had a dust up with others.

Also, just because some of His children – through the accident of birth – were born in a land where their current “guv'mint” isn’t too good -- and some places where it might even be downright bad -- doesn't mean He forgets about them. Let’s remember, Jesus wasn’t born in a place that had “most favored nation trade status” in his day. He did not grow up the son of Caesar, or even Pilate. He was born the son of a Jewish carpenter in Roman-occupied Palestine. Two thousand years later, people from at least three major religions and many nationalities are still in conflict over the same sand and land and water that evoked wars throughout the Hebrew Bible.

Sometimes, in our selfishness, we might forget to act with the “universal good of the entire human family” foremost in our minds. However, even if we don't do a good job of showing a universal preferential option for the poor all the time, I think God probably does. And every year he gives us the holiday season as a special way to remember to do unto all others as well.

Action

Is the call to mission from today’s Gospel a call to abandon work and family and your way of life and follow Jesus completely and unconditionally. Yes. Such an approach will lead to a closer friendship and relationship with Christ as it did for Peter, James and John.

When I am sitting in a traffic jam, or working on another unreasonable deadline at the office, boy would I like to leave all this behind. But I don’t. And you don’t either.

Certainly Jesus wants and needs people worshipping Him and serving Him and the Church in the cloisters and abbeys and monasteries and convents of the world. But he also needs people worshipping him in the schools, hospitals, offices, factories, families and fields of today. No matter what your personal “environment,” how can you be a living example of Christ’s love to the companions on your journey?