Quesnel: Moral Reflections on the Gospels Vol 1

56 ST. MATTHEW.
"21. And going on from thence, he saw other
two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John
his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father,
mending their nets; and he called them."
Sometimes God is pleased to unite by grace those
who are already united by nature, to show that he
does not design to destroy, but to repair it; some-
times he separates them, to prove their sincerity, to
show the force of his grace and of his love; to make
known his sovereign power, and that he chooses his
ministers with distinction, and with the greatest
wisdom. There is a time to cast the nets into the
sea, that is, to labour for the salvation of others ;
and a time to mend them, that is, for a man to pre-
pare himself for labour, to make the best amends he
can for his wandering, and other imperfections, by
prayer and retirement, to gain new strength, and to
fortify himself against the dangers to which he may
probably be exposed.
" 22. And they immediately left the ship, and
their father, and followed him."
We must renounce all human expectations, and
all the tenderness of nature, (represented here by
the nets and the father of these apostles,) in order
to enter into the ministry with
spirit. And what shall we not
a true
find in
apostolic
thee, O
Jesus, if we leave all for thy sake 1 He who but
just now united brethren, by calling them to the
ministry of grace, now separates the sons from their
father, to teach them to obey God at the expense of
all things, and to prefer the honour of serving him
in poverty and humility, to all the comforts of a
father's house.