Daily Reflection for Monday, January 13, 2020
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners!
We encourage you to reflect on Monday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011320.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 1 Samuel 1:1-8
Responsorial: Psalm 116:12-19
Gospel: Mark 1:14-20
Our reflection on Monday’s readings:
“Then they left their nets and followed him" (Mark 1:18)
Most of us have jobs that we spend a good number of hours accomplishing weekly. Some of us happen to work for a family business as well, which from my perspective (that is of not working in a family business) adds another layer of intricacy to the work/life balance.
The latter is the situation most of the men Jesus sought out along the seashore found themselves in from today’s Gospel. They were fishermen and they worked with their brother(s) and most likely their father, and uncles and others related to their family. So to follow Jesus meant not only giving up their livelihood; it also meant leaving their families, not even giving a current day typical 2-week notice of their intentions.
This reading continues to tug at me over the years. The first few times I heard this reading, I simply took it for the facts of the story. Jesus came along, and these men were thrilled to simply throw down their nets and walk with Him. As the years have gone by and I continue to hear and sit with this reading I process and feel so much more. It makes me hungry for the presence of Jesus in my life this way.
Placing the call of Jesus to the disciples to throw down their nets and follow Him, and by proxy to all of us as well, involves change on my part. The strongest words here for me are trust and obedience. First, to trust at this level of call. Not to over analyze, over think, or over plan, but to trust that if Jesus is asking, then He will care for the details. Obedience to the call is necessary so that I stay the course and don’t get pulled off track.
I feel a sense of letting go of all those little details in every day that can easily convince me to not change anything about my life. Usually because it is easier to not “rock the boat.” What Jesus asked of the first 12 men who followed him was radical. How can I choose to follow Jesus even when the change required of me is radical?
I suspect the apostles had moments of self-doubt or the desire to turn back the clock. Remembering their humanness helps me to ease into areas I feel called that are less than comfortable. This year as Jesus walks the “shores” of my life, I pray that I am a little quicker to drop my nets and follow Him.
What do you need to let go of to follow Him?
In Heartfelt Joy,
Lynne Brennan