A Reflection on Mark
1:14-20
In today's
gospel, Jesus walks along the Sea of Galilee and issues perhaps the most exciting
invitation in human history: "Come after me, and I will make you fishers
of men." What strikes us immediately is how Simon, Andrew, James, and John
respond, they leave everything instantly. Their nets, their boats, their
father, their entire livelihood, all abandoned in a moment. This wasn't
recklessness; it was recognition. These fishermen somehow perceived that the
person standing before them was offering something infinitely greater than
financial security or family tradition. They intuited what we sometimes forget:
that Jesus doesn't call us to a slightly improved version of our current life,
but to a complete transformation. The Lord doesn't merely want to add Himself
to our existing priorities; He wants to become our everything.
Consider what those fishermen were actually doing when Jesus called them. They
were mending nets, repairing what was broken, preparing for the next day's
work. How often we find ourselves doing the same spiritually, trying to patch
up our lives with our own efforts, planning tomorrow as if we're in complete
control. Jesus interrupts this cycle of self-reliance with an invitation to
partnership with the Divine. He promises to make them "fishers of
men," meaning their work will no longer be just about their own survival
but about bringing others to salvation. This is the Catholic understanding of
vocation in its purest form: God doesn't erase who we are or what we know; He
elevates it, redirects it toward eternal purposes. The fishermen's expertise
wouldn't be wasted; it would be transfigured.
The connection to the Rosary becomes clear when we remember that Mary herself
lived this same radical trust. In the Joyful Mysteries, we contemplate her
"yes" at the Annunciation, a moment when she, like the apostles, said
yes to something that made no earthly sense but perfect divine sense. When we
pray the Hail Mary, we echo the angel's greeting to someone who dropped
everything, who let her entire life be redirected by God's call. The Luminous
Mysteries show us Jesus beginning His public ministry, the very ministry
described in today's gospel, and they remind us that discipleship means walking
with Jesus through proclamation, transformation, and sometimes even suffering.
Each decade of the Rosary teaches us what these fishermen learned on the shore:
that following Jesus means meditating on His mysteries, allowing them to
reshape our understanding of everything, and trusting that He who calls us will
equip us.
The beauty of this gospel is that the call hasn't ended. Jesus still walks the
shores of our ordinary lives, still issues the same invitation to leave behind
whatever keeps us from complete surrender. For some, it's literal nets, careers,
relationships, comforts. For others, it's the nets of our pride, our need for
control, our carefully constructed plans that have no room for divine
interruption. The apostles teach us that holiness isn't found in perfect
preparation but in immediate response. They didn't wait until they understood
everything or until they felt worthy. They simply went. And the Church was born
from that willingness to abandon the shore and follow a Galilean carpenter who
promised to turn fishermen into instruments of salvation.
Questions
to Consider:
·
What
are the "nets" in my life, the securities, comforts, or plans, that
Jesus might be asking me to leave behind or hold more loosely?
·
When
I Pray the Rosary, especially the mysteries of Jesus's public ministry, do I
ask Mary to teach me her kind of radical trust and immediate obedience to God's
will?
·
How
do I respond when Jesus interrupts my careful plans and self-sufficient, self-planned,
perfect life "my worldly focus on my successful life" with his
invitation to something I don't fully understand?
·
In
what ways is Jesus calling me to be a "fisher of men" in my own
circumstances, to help bring others closer to Him through my daily witness?
·
What
would immediate obedience look like in my life right now, and what graces do I
need to ask for in order to respond like the apostles did?
©2026 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
