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APRIL 30
NOT JUST ANOTHER TEACHER
“And as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his
brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus
said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ They
immediately left their nets and followed him.” (Mk 1: 16-17)
So, Simon and Andrew simply walk off from their job, leaving their nets,
and follow Jesus. And He barely said anything to them – only the puzzling
phrase I read above, which probably made little sense to them, “I will
make you become fishers of men.” At this point the disciples know little
if anything of Christ’s “teaching.” They are following Him, not a teaching.
I note today that of course, Christ brings us a salvific teaching and
valuable “lessons” on how to live. But this is not exclusively, not even
primarily, what makes us follow Him, leaving our “nets” and other
entanglements behind. There were many wise teachers before Christ,
with more systematic teachings on how to live. My faith is primarily
about a meeting with a living Being, the God-Man Jesus Christ, Who
reveals to us the Father and sends the Holy Spirit, in the lived experience
of daily life in Him. It is the strength, the power of this Being, that makes
His teaching salvifically different from the teaching of others, as it says
in this same chapter of the Gospel of Mark: “And they were astonished at
His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the
scribes.” (Mk 1: 22)
Let me remember not to limit myself to “learning about” Christ, but also
to meet Him in heartfelt prayer, letting His grace into my heart and into
my entire schedule today.
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