Fishing for people

The Gospel of Matthew from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today presents the episode of Jesus calling His first disciples. The desire of the Divine for intimate communion with humans is put into action on the ground through this example. This desire is within the context of the gift of free will. The creature is invited to intimacy with Creator and the decision must be made to accept the journey to holiness by following Him. The power of the example and model of Jesus is evidenced in the immediacy of the response of the fishermen. "They left their nets and followed Him". This response is one which might be expected of a person, as Richard Rohr describes in Falling Upward, in the second half of life of their spiritual journey where ego and career have been replaced in our passions with the vision of the possibility of the experience of the simple beauty of love in an environment which presents many daily opportunities for encounter and intimacy with God. This "wisdom" is gift of God. It is evidenced in the observation of the psalmist that the day, night and the majesty of the heavens declare this knowledge of the Divine without words. The particular instruction of Paul to the Romans may seem to be unnecessary if the "revelation" is in the universe and people around us. The action of calling disciples and preaching, as St Francis suggests, with the model of a life to which people will be attracted is catalyst to move for those who continue to fish and need the option of leaving their nets to be offered to them.