3rd Sunday Ordinary time 2008
Expect a call from God from an unexpected time and place!
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
There are moments in life when something unexpected happens which makes all the difference. It happens to us. It happens in us. These are events which change the course of our life, often in a radical manner. Such was the case of the four fishermen: Simon and Andrew, James and John, the borders of whose world coincided with the area of the Lake of Galilee, until the day they met Jesus.
“Come after me!” Jesus called them. And immediately they abandoned their boats, their nets, their crew, their relatives . . . and became his followers – the first recruits of a peaceful army tasked to conquer the world.
An unexpected invitation, a prompt response, an immediate departure for an unknown destination. Four hearts were set aflame. Four lives would never be the same again.
What impelled Simon, Andrew, James, and John to leave everything behind and follow Jesus? There was his promise, of course, that he would make them “fishers of men” (Mk 1:17). But what moved those four fishermen to be so radical in their response was the fascinating personality of the Caller: JESUS. They saw him, they heard him, and they made up their minds. Their hearts had been conquered by him.
It was like falling in love, when everybody else in the world seems to vanish from sight or become unattractive, and all that remains and counts is just “the beloved one.”
God is calling us to repentance though different channels and persons. You know the conversion story of the leading actor of film Bella; Eduardo Verástegui .
Eduardo Verástegui was not only playing the stereotypical Latin lover. He was living the role. Money… Cars… Girls...You name it, he had it.
Verástegui said "God changed my heart and I had to repent of my past. And from that day on, I promised that I would never do anything that will offend God or my Latino heritage. I would never do anything to compromise my faith. That's the moment I realized that the purpose of my life was to know and to love God."
“It is clear to me now that I wasn’t born to be a movie star,” Verástegui said. “I wasn’t born to be famous. I wasn’t born to be a CEO of a company. I was … born to know and to love and to serve Jesus Christ.”
So, how did a loose-living, self-described Casanova get from there to here? Not surprisingly, women played a key role—starting with his mother.
"There is nothing more powerful than the prayers of a mother," says Verástegui, "When I was pursuing fame, pleasure, and success, my mother started going to her prayer groups and saying, 'OK, if my words don't touch his heart, one day my prayers will.'"
After 12 years in the entertainment industry, Verástegui realized he was empty – thanks to his English teacher whom the Lord used to change his heart.
His teacher was a devout Christian and as she taught him English, she also questioned him about the purpose of his life.
“Why do you want to be an actor? Why are you doing what you’re doing?” she would ask Verástegui.
After six months of conversation, God did a work in Verástegui, and he was broken over the sin in his life. He came to the stark realization that he had used his talents in projects that were poisonous to society, while hurting his family, himself and others in the process.
“But the one thing that broke my heart was when I realized that I offended God with talent that He gave me…It was a moment of grace where He revealed all the things that I was doing with my life. And thank God that He is a God of forgiveness.”
Christ changed Verástegui’s heart and became the center of his life, which could have meant the end of his career as an entertainer. But that didn’t matter to Verástegui.
“The price of changing my path was that I was never going to be able to work again,I was at peace with that.”
While he can’t change his past or erase the remnants of a career rooted in pop culture, Verástegui can begin anew, and he is doing just that by seeking to live a life that brings glory to Christ – right in the middle of Hollywood. Yes dear brothers and sisters Jesus is calling each one of us for a radical change; a repentance of heart.
If Jesus approaches you and asked you to follow him, what would you say? What would you do?
Peter and Andrew were working fishermen. They were gainfully employed, living their lives, and immersed in their own here and now… And as Galilean fishermen, we know that they were probably quite comfortable and quite prosperous. But Jesus called them.
Tom believes he should be a soul winner for Christ. In the parish Bible class he has learnt how to share his faith with people and lead them to Christ. But he has never done it. Tom prays to God to give him a sign so that he would know exactly when to start. One day Tom is travelling in the subway to meet his Bible study friends. He has his Bible in his handbag. A young man about his own age enters the train and sits next to Tom. He wears a T-shirt with the slogan, “who has the most toys wins.” Tom bends his head and says a little prayer, “Lord give me a sign when to start.” The young man’s cell phone rings. His friend wants him to come and pick him up. After arguing with his friend awhile, he says, “All right, I will come to the church and pick you up, but I will not enter the church. You will find me at the parking lot,” and hangs up. Tom bends his head a second time and prays, “Lord, I’m still waiting for the sign!” Finally, the young man turns to Tom and says, “You know, I got this weird friend who skips work on Sundays to go to church. I don’t get it.” Tom smiles, bends down his head once again and says, “Lord, the sign, the sign!”
If we are in the place of them what we would think! “Fishers of men? We’re doing quite well here as fishers of fish, thank you very much”… Come follow you on the road? But, we have families? We have responsibilities? We have the boat… and it’s almost completely paid off. We have to drive the kids to soccer at ten and then get the oldest one to play practice by twelve. We got mom to take care of now and midterms are coming up… and did you know that prescription prices are going through the roof? No, no thanks. We’ll stay right here and tend to the boats and the nets and we will wait for a greater sign. Come back tomorrow or maybe next Sunday or the next time you’re in town… we’ll be right here, Jesus. We’ll be right here living our lives and maybe things will be easier then…
You get the point. Peter and Andrew weren’t all that dissimilar from you and me… and their lives weren’t that dissimilar either. What they did, did take great courage and tremendous faith. They dropped their nets and they followed Christ.
And this is our challenge. To do what Peter and Andrew did, which does take great courage and tremendous faith. To let the people we interact with every day know what we believe in. To let the people we meet think, “there’s something different about that person.” To show by our actions and our priorities… that we do feel called by Jesus. And today that same Jesus who called them, calling each one of us for repentance.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
There are moments in life when something unexpected happens which makes all the difference. It happens to us. It happens in us. These are events which change the course of our life, often in a radical manner. Such was the case of the four fishermen: Simon and Andrew, James and John, the borders of whose world coincided with the area of the Lake of Galilee, until the day they met Jesus.
“Come after me!” Jesus called them. And immediately they abandoned their boats, their nets, their crew, their relatives . . . and became his followers – the first recruits of a peaceful army tasked to conquer the world.
An unexpected invitation, a prompt response, an immediate departure for an unknown destination. Four hearts were set aflame. Four lives would never be the same again.
What impelled Simon, Andrew, James, and John to leave everything behind and follow Jesus? There was his promise, of course, that he would make them “fishers of men” (Mk 1:17). But what moved those four fishermen to be so radical in their response was the fascinating personality of the Caller: JESUS. They saw him, they heard him, and they made up their minds. Their hearts had been conquered by him.
It was like falling in love, when everybody else in the world seems to vanish from sight or become unattractive, and all that remains and counts is just “the beloved one.”
God is calling us to repentance though different channels and persons. You know the conversion story of the leading actor of film Bella; Eduardo Verástegui .
Eduardo Verástegui was not only playing the stereotypical Latin lover. He was living the role. Money… Cars… Girls...You name it, he had it.
Verástegui said "God changed my heart and I had to repent of my past. And from that day on, I promised that I would never do anything that will offend God or my Latino heritage. I would never do anything to compromise my faith. That's the moment I realized that the purpose of my life was to know and to love God."
“It is clear to me now that I wasn’t born to be a movie star,” Verástegui said. “I wasn’t born to be famous. I wasn’t born to be a CEO of a company. I was … born to know and to love and to serve Jesus Christ.”
So, how did a loose-living, self-described Casanova get from there to here? Not surprisingly, women played a key role—starting with his mother.
"There is nothing more powerful than the prayers of a mother," says Verástegui, "When I was pursuing fame, pleasure, and success, my mother started going to her prayer groups and saying, 'OK, if my words don't touch his heart, one day my prayers will.'"
After 12 years in the entertainment industry, Verástegui realized he was empty – thanks to his English teacher whom the Lord used to change his heart.
His teacher was a devout Christian and as she taught him English, she also questioned him about the purpose of his life.
“Why do you want to be an actor? Why are you doing what you’re doing?” she would ask Verástegui.
After six months of conversation, God did a work in Verástegui, and he was broken over the sin in his life. He came to the stark realization that he had used his talents in projects that were poisonous to society, while hurting his family, himself and others in the process.
“But the one thing that broke my heart was when I realized that I offended God with talent that He gave me…It was a moment of grace where He revealed all the things that I was doing with my life. And thank God that He is a God of forgiveness.”
Christ changed Verástegui’s heart and became the center of his life, which could have meant the end of his career as an entertainer. But that didn’t matter to Verástegui.
“The price of changing my path was that I was never going to be able to work again,I was at peace with that.”
While he can’t change his past or erase the remnants of a career rooted in pop culture, Verástegui can begin anew, and he is doing just that by seeking to live a life that brings glory to Christ – right in the middle of Hollywood. Yes dear brothers and sisters Jesus is calling each one of us for a radical change; a repentance of heart.
If Jesus approaches you and asked you to follow him, what would you say? What would you do?
Peter and Andrew were working fishermen. They were gainfully employed, living their lives, and immersed in their own here and now… And as Galilean fishermen, we know that they were probably quite comfortable and quite prosperous. But Jesus called them.
Tom believes he should be a soul winner for Christ. In the parish Bible class he has learnt how to share his faith with people and lead them to Christ. But he has never done it. Tom prays to God to give him a sign so that he would know exactly when to start. One day Tom is travelling in the subway to meet his Bible study friends. He has his Bible in his handbag. A young man about his own age enters the train and sits next to Tom. He wears a T-shirt with the slogan, “who has the most toys wins.” Tom bends his head and says a little prayer, “Lord give me a sign when to start.” The young man’s cell phone rings. His friend wants him to come and pick him up. After arguing with his friend awhile, he says, “All right, I will come to the church and pick you up, but I will not enter the church. You will find me at the parking lot,” and hangs up. Tom bends his head a second time and prays, “Lord, I’m still waiting for the sign!” Finally, the young man turns to Tom and says, “You know, I got this weird friend who skips work on Sundays to go to church. I don’t get it.” Tom smiles, bends down his head once again and says, “Lord, the sign, the sign!”
If we are in the place of them what we would think! “Fishers of men? We’re doing quite well here as fishers of fish, thank you very much”… Come follow you on the road? But, we have families? We have responsibilities? We have the boat… and it’s almost completely paid off. We have to drive the kids to soccer at ten and then get the oldest one to play practice by twelve. We got mom to take care of now and midterms are coming up… and did you know that prescription prices are going through the roof? No, no thanks. We’ll stay right here and tend to the boats and the nets and we will wait for a greater sign. Come back tomorrow or maybe next Sunday or the next time you’re in town… we’ll be right here, Jesus. We’ll be right here living our lives and maybe things will be easier then…
You get the point. Peter and Andrew weren’t all that dissimilar from you and me… and their lives weren’t that dissimilar either. What they did, did take great courage and tremendous faith. They dropped their nets and they followed Christ.
And this is our challenge. To do what Peter and Andrew did, which does take great courage and tremendous faith. To let the people we interact with every day know what we believe in. To let the people we meet think, “there’s something different about that person.” To show by our actions and our priorities… that we do feel called by Jesus. And today that same Jesus who called them, calling each one of us for repentance.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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