In today’s gospel (Matt 4:12-23) we hear Jesus taking up his ministry right where John the Baptist left off with the urgent message “repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. At about this same time Jesus summons the first apostles with the simple invitation “come follow me”.
And we see the connection between the message and the invitation, for it is only by repenting – by changing the direction of our lives and turning back to God – that we can sincerely respond to Jesus’ loving invitation.
In this gospel we also hear those first apostles immediately responding, choosing to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. The quickness of their response amidst what must have been great uncertainty about where they were headed, leads me to believe that this is not a decision that they arrived at on their own, but rather a decision that was inspired by the grace of God. God must have been at work in those apostles for them to realize that Jesus’ invitation was not to be denied. Even so, the apostles must have had a fair degree of uncertainty and doubt. But they put their faith in Jesus. And over time as they came to know Jesus more their trust in him only continued to increase. And as they entered into intimate relationship with him and came to love him, they were able to abandon themselves to him. In the end they were able to go out into the world and proclaim him as their Lord and Savior without whom life has no meaning.
It is the same for us. Jesus issues the same message and invitation to us – “repent, turn your life back to God, and follow me”. And like those apostles we cannot answer this call on our own. We recognize that it is by the grace of God that we answer this call in faith. And as we come to know Jesus more and more our trust in him increases. And as we enter into intimate relationship with Jesus, as we come to realize how much he loves us and as we come to love him in return, we then turn our lives over to him completely.
And Jesus extends his invitation to us not just once but every day. Each day we are faced with choices and decisions that will either bring us closer to God or take us further from him. So we pray to God for the strength, courage, and guidance that only he can provide. And we know that this prayer will always be answered – that God will never lead us astray. And if we fall off the path that leads us to God, we are given the chance to begin again, and again. Jesus issues an open invitation – “come follow me” – an invitation that is extended to us always no matter where we find ourselves in our life. Such is the love that God has for us.