-
- CALLED TO BE
FISHERS OF MEN
- By Fr.
Agustinus Tupen Belo, PR
-
Parish
of St. Joseph, Duri, as translated by Dan Viray
-
Brothers and
Sisters in Christ…
Since men fell
into sin and wickedness, God took the initiative to have a long-term
plan, a grand project named universal salvation. Long before He sent
His Son into the world as Savior of mankind, God called and sent
prophets to help Him, to bring the news of repentance to sinners.
One of the prophets is Jonah who was chosen to become the fisher of
sinful men of Nineveh, a city of unbelievers.
At first,
Jonah refused his mission reasoning he can only be sent to the Jews,
not to the Gentiles. Because of this, he fled aboard a ship to
another place. God, who loves Jonah, gave him a very meaningful
lesson, which made Jonah repent and go to Nineveh. When Jonah
arrived in Nineveh, he announced God’s message that all people of
the city, old and young, have to repent and believe in God. If they
did not repent, God will destroy Nineveh and they will all perish.
But if they believed, God will not carry out His plan.
The prophetic
voice of Jonah awakened the hearts of the people of Nineveh and they
proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on
sackcloth, as a sign that they turned away from their wicked ways.
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil ways,
He spared Nineveh from destruction.
While in the
Gospel (Mark 1:16-20) Mark tells us how Jesus invited several
fishermen to be His disciples and followers. This call of the
disciples happened by the Sea of Galilee while they were busy doing
their daily routine, that is, fishing to fill their daily needs.
An interesting
part of this story is that when Jesus called Simon and his friends
to follow Him, they immediately left their fishing nets, their
fathers and their hired hands. They followed Jesus without comment,
without feeling burdened and the process of their calling went
smoothly without any hindrance. This points out that Simon, Andrew,
James and John willingly gave themselves totally to Jesus who called
them. All cares, energy, time and private comfort were sacrificed
for the nobler worth and purpose of being fishers of men. “Follow
me, and I will make you fish for people (Mark 1:17)”, so goes Jesus’
invitation on their very first meeting by the Sea of Galilee.
Leaving their
fishing nets means they are ready to receive new nets from Jesus.
They are ready to be sent anywhere around the world to help Jesus
and be fishers of sinful men. This is the new task Jesus gave to
Simon and his friends.
Before they
can accomplish the mission given to them by Jesus, they need to be
prepared first. They need to be built up and educated so they can
become loyal disciples and successful fishers of men. That is why
they decided to stay with Jesus so they can study continuously from
Jesus, the Teacher and Shepherd.
Paul in his
letter to the Romans said it clearly that this world inhabited by
man will perish in time. This means that all we have and all our
glory will be gone. Nothing will be left. Remembering that this
world will perish, every person should focus his or her attention to
the new world that is being prepared by God for the people who have
the right to live there.
No one really
knows the end of this world. Only God knows when is the end of
time. This is a good reason for us to prepare ourselves
continuously to face His second coming at the end of time. Our faith
is still strong, our hopes are still aflame and our hearts are still
burning. Up to this moment, the great project of salvation is still
on-going. As long as this world rotates on its axis, the offer of
salvation continues, the invitation to repentance is continuously
proclaimed and the net of salvation is always spread.
Meanwhile,
during this time, God still uses us to be His helping hands. For us
who are baptized and became His followers for years, He is hoping
that we become the fishers and drawers of mankind. Because of this,
we should reflect on the question: “Is the net we are using to catch
mankind, who are still outside the fence of salvation, still
relevant?”
Let us not
dream of having a bountiful catch if our net is already torn and
outmoded. Let us not hope to get a satisfactory produce if we only
cast our net in the place or field where there is really no hope.
Come, brothers
and sisters. Let us challenge each other to cast our powerful nets
amidst this world. May God help us to start and fulfill our task.
Keep on the challenge!
-
-
TELL US
LIKE IT IS!
- Has
something wonderful and unique happened in your life lately? Did
God answer your prayer in a very unexpected way? Did you, like
Isaiah, meet God’s whisper?
- Have
you felt His powerful hand working in your life recently?
-
Everyday, people are experiencing God’s mighty Word in their
lives and it is a pity that very few know about it. Do you have
a story to tell? Some Good News to share?
- E-mail
us (genesis@catholic.org)
or fax us (021-6627384), and tell us about it. That’s right! You
don’t have to be a great writer to do this. We can help you
write it – just tell us like it is!
- Don’t
forget to write the subject: “Let Me Tell You A Story”
For comments, suggestions
or ideas:
Write us: Jl. Bacang No. 20
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia
Call us: (6221) 720-3824
Fax us: (6221) 662-7384
Genesis
Catholic Community
- All
Rights Reserved 2003
No
part of this website may be copied, reproduced or modified without
the permission from the webmaster.
|
IN THIS ISSUE:
HIS Servant
by Bro. Pete Lapid
The Father Speaks
By Fr. S. Binzler, SJ
Our Faith
By Fr. KJ Veeger, MSC
Place of Refuge
By Philip Yuson
Surabaya Corner
By Ramon Martillano
Community Life
By Tintin Magbitang
Reflection
By Fr. Agustinus Belo,
PR
Straight from the Heart
By Carolle Bautista
Catholic News Service
On Focus
By Sansu Garin
Saint for the Month
 |
