Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men

SUNDAY 26 JANUARY (Mt 4,12-23)

Creator of all that has been, that is and that will be, both materially and spiritually, is only the Lord. But that of the Lord is not a static creation, which takes place once and for all. Instead, his is a dynamic creation. Our God was not the Creator. He is today. He will be tomorrow and always. He always works to create new things on our earth. We are moment by moment a fruit of his love and his truth, in the image of which He today and always wants to create us. Yet another truth must be brought to light. The beginnings of creation, or our entry into life, are without our will. Who does not exist cannot be asked if he wants to exist. He does not exist. From the moment of existence God creates us, if we want to be created. He renews us, if we want to be renewed. He leads us to the beauty of our creation which is the highest holiness, if we want to be sanctified by Him. Without our will our God might do nothing for us. He might inundate us with every grace, but it is always necessary that we make the grace of God our own and let ourselves be made by him in the truth.

Today Jesus says to Simon and Andrew: “Come after me, I will make you fishers of men”. When will he make them fishers of men? Every day, moment by moment. Every day they must let themselves be made fishermen. Not even after Pentecost Peter is a perfect fisher of men. Even after, day by day, Jesus must make him a fisher of men: “The next day, while they were on their way and nearing the city, Peter went up to the roof terrace to pray at about noontime. He was hungry and wished to eat, and while they were making preparations he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all the earth’s four-legged animals and reptiles and the birds of the sky. A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.” But Peter said, “Certainly not, sir. For never have I eaten anything profane and unclean.” The voice spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.” This happened three times, and then the object was taken up into the sky. While Peter was in doubt about the meaning of the vision he had seen, the men sent by Cornelius asked for Simon’s house and arrived at the entrance. They called out inquiring whether Simon, who is called Peter, was staying there. As Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said (to him), “There are three men here looking for you. So get up, go downstairs, and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them”” (At 10,9-20). Peter still does not know how the people are fished and carried into the boat of the kingdom of heaven. In the Holy Spirit, Jesus makes him a fisher of peoples and nations. The “I will make” of Jesus is dynamic, not static and lasts a lifetime, not a moment.

When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.” From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he 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. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

Every day the Lord must make us baptized and confirmed. Every day he must make us presbyters, bishops and popes. Every day he must create the unity and indissolubility of the couple. Jesus will make if man lets himself be made. Jesus’ dynamism must be the disciple’s dynamism. Instead, we think that everything is static. We do not let ourselves be made and we fail our lives.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, help us to let ourselves be made every day by Christ the Lord.