Mark 1:14-20

Mark 1:14-20

After John had been arrested,

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God:

“This is the time of fulfillment.

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,

he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;

they were fishermen.

Jesus said to them,

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

Then they left their nets and followed him.

He walked along a little farther

and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.

They too were in a boat mending their nets.

Then he called them.

So they left their father Zebedee in the boat

along with the hired men and followed him.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to hear the words of your Son today, to repent from my sinful ways with your grace, and to believe more fully in your Gospel. Help me to leave behind those things that keep me from you and hold me back from following your Son more closely.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Moral Sense of Mark’s Gospel: For the next five and a half weeks, the daily Gospel will be taken from the Gospel according to Mark. When we read Mark according to the literal sense, we hear the preaching of Peter about the life of Jesus. When we read Mark according to the allegorical sense, we see Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecies about the royal Messiah. What about the moral sense of Mark’s Gospel? This sense teaches us how to be disciples of Jesus and to follow Jesus. Mark identifies Jesus as the suffering Messiah and Servant of the Lord. Jesus’ destiny is to journey to Jerusalem to suffer and die and be raised on the third day. As his disciples, we are invited to identify ourselves with our Lord and follow in his footsteps. “Just as the truth of Jesus is found only on the cross, so is the secret of discipleship. To be a follower of Jesus is to share intimately in his life and destiny, as Paul knew well (see Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:8-11). Throughout the Gospel, Jesus’ focus is on forming deep bonds of communion with his disciples and preparing them for the ordeal that lies ahead. Ironically, this formation seems not to succeed, since his companions are consistently uncomprehending, hardened, doubting, and inept; they finally abandon their master in his hour of trial. Yet even their failure is part of God’s plan, for though they stumble, Jesus remains true, and through his total fidelity to the Father gains forgiveness and restoration for them. Just as in the Old Testament story of Israel, God’s love is often met with infidelity and betrayal, yet is constantly renewed, so the Gospel ends with the joyous promise of an encounter with the risen Lord” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 24).

2. Metanoia and Faith: There are two necessary responses to the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God: conversion (metanoia) and belief. John the Baptist was able to invite people to conversion or repentance. Jesus, however, can do more and invites the people to believe in the Gospel. “Conversion is a twofold movement – away from sin and toward God. It is a movement of our detachment from sin and a re-attachment to the Lord. One of the Greek roots of ‘repent’ (nous) means ‘mind,’ so repentance and conversion literally mean ‘to change one’s mind’ – that is, to totally reorient one’s life (see CCC, 1431)” (A Catholic Guide to the New Testament, 127). Jesus invites his listeners to trustingly accept and yield to what God is doing in him. “The kingdom is near enough that anyone who so chooses can reach out and lay hold of it through faith” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 42). The kingdom of God is present in Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus will work to liberate the cosmos from the reign of the devil and reconcile it with God: “Where Jesus is present, there demons and disease flee. And so, the kingdom has its advent with Jesus, the coming one whom John the Baptist announced. The proper response is repentance, joining God’s army to be liberated, and once liberated, advancing the liberation of the whole cosmos, which, ultimately, is the content of the gospel Jesus calls us to believe in” (Huizenga, Loosing the Lion, 96).

3. Following Jesus: The second half of today’s Gospel narrates the story of the call of four fishermen to leave behind their former life and follow Christ. The four are an example for every Christian disciple. They encountered Jesus while they were busy at work in the world. It seems that the sons of Zebedee, James and John, were successful in their family business and could even afford to hire employees. But they left all of this behind. They responded to Jesus’ call to conversion and the call to believe in the Gospel. The conversion is not just a turning away from sin but also involves a change in mindset. The beginning of our spiritual life is often a detachment from habits of serious sin. Sin clouds the mind, and true conversion necessitates a change in our way of thinking. The continuation of our spiritual life, growth in holiness, and moral growth is our ongoing conversion and conformity to the mind and life of Christ. As disciples, we need to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. “Getting behind” Jesus and following him entails a healthy dose of humility. The prideful person, by contrast, tries to get ahead of Jesus and forge their own path. They mistakenly think that they can bring Jesus along for the ride or that Jesus will follow them!

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, pour forth your Spirit into my heart and move me to conversion of heart and a deep faith. I will strive each day to discern in prayer how I am called to follow you and detach myself from the things of this passing world.

Living the Word of God: Am I trying to bring Christ along with me? Or am I following behind Jesus like the four fishermen? What are my strongest attachments to sin? What would a deeper faith look like in my life?