"FOLLOW ME, AND I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN" (Matt. 4:19). What an amazing invitation this was to Jesus' future disciples Andrew and Simon Peter—fishermen at work casting their nets. And to many others in the midst of their everyday lives, Jesus also offered this invitation to follow him.
What was it that made the disciples so immediately answer that call? They must have felt the Christly love of Jesus, must have seen something in him that touched them in an entirely new way. Undoubtedly, the disciples could not have imagined the wonders they would see, the sacrifices that would be required of them, or the love they would come to feel for Jesus as he became known to them as the Christ, the Son of God.
But as we look at the disciples' three-year journey with Jesus, we find that the call Jesus' followers accepted was not a one-time event. And their response was not always immediate. At various times during their service to Jesus, and especially when faced with their Master's supreme test at the crucifixion, the disciples wavered in their faithfulness to follow him.
This wavering was especially true for the disciple Peter. Even though at one point, in a flash of inspiration, Peter had declared that Jesus was indeed the Christ (see Matt. 16:16), Jesus strongly chastised Peter very soon thereafter for not understanding the cost associated with Jesus' mission (see Matt. 16:22–23). Later, after Jesus was arrested, Peter gave in to fear and doubt, denying three times that he even knew Jesus (see Matt. 26:69–75).
However, Jesus' resurrection brought the good news that the crucifixion had not been the end of his mission. And yet, his followers seemed not to understand the enormous significance of his resurrection. For, as incredible as it seems, after all they had seen and experienced, one morning Peter announced to a few of his fellow disciples that he was going back to his fishing. They all returned to their boats and their nets and went fishing again, just as they had before hearing Jesus' call and following him.
But Jesus did not leave them there. The Gospel of John records that as the disciples were fishing, Jesus showed himself to them once more. It seems that they not only needed to receive the call again, but to have some clear direction of what it would mean from then on to follow Christ in their daily lives.
Jesus' resurrection brought the good news that the crucifixion had not been the end of his mission.
At that point, Jesus gave the disciples a series of firm but loving commands that would set the pattern for their life work. Jesus asked his disciples (who as yet did not recognize him) if they had caught any fish. When they answered no, Jesus advised them, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find" (John 21:6). They did, and their net was full. Their obedience to this command met their immediate need. But it also enabled them to recognize that the stranger on the shore was their Lord. Though the disciples might not have realized it at the time, Jesus' words were instructing them how to do more than simply catch more fish. Jesus could well have said, Be willing to turn from your usual way of doing things.
Jesus' next command, "Come and dine" (John 21:12), invited the disciples to sit down and eat bread, which Jesus had earlier called the "meat which endureth unto everlasting life" (John 6:27). And because the nature of Christ's call always comes out of love, forgiveness is never far behind. So it was natural that at this early-morning meal on the shore, Jesus gave Peter that most wonderful of gifts: the opportunity to repent. Three times Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" And upon Peter's soulful and affirmative response, Jesus commanded him to "feed my sheep" (John 21:15–17).
Fishers of men, indeed. I have often asked myself what are the lessons from this story of Jesus' constant call to all his followers, especially those of today.
Many years ago, what I felt was a "Christ call" came very unexpectedly. I live in New Orleans, and this occurred during Mardi Gras celebrations—as I was standing on a ladder to better see a parade. As I looked out over the crowd, I heard the clear mental call: "Your mission is to heal." These were words that rang familiar to me, as they come from a hymn (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 5). "But I'm not able, I'm not ready" was my mental response. I had seen the healing power of the Christ in my own life, had felt the inspiration and known the peace, and yet here I was denying the call and arguing to spend more time with the boats and the nets!
In thinking about the disciples' own experiences of fear and doubt, with uncertainty and attraction to old ways, I have found Jesus' instructions to them most helpful. In my experience, the call to heal evolved into my having the willingness to give up my own plans for my life—to cast the net on the right side, you might say. To "come and dine"—to yearn for a deeper love of the spiritual meat, and an unselfish desire to share divine Love's inspirations—to respond to Jesus' call to "feed my sheep."
Over the years this commitment to heal has brought me many unexpected opportunities. A small example came after I had spent one Saturday praying over Jesus' words to his disciples: "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me" (John 5:30).
That evening I received a call from my Christian Science branch church, asking me if I could fill out the term as Reader for someone who had just moved away. I had known that this vacancy was an important issue in our church. However, I was living an hour away from town and church, and was pretty confident that I was already doing what God wanted me to do. But here I was, having spent the day wanting to do only the will of God, not trying to figure out what that might mean in my daily life, but just being willing. And that was the evening that the call came. I became willing then to give up what I thought I should be doing and I accepted this loving offer. And this acceptance led to many wonderful changes in my life that I can't even begin to describe.
I've found one more very important lesson from the post-resurrection meeting between Jesus and the disciples. Once more, Jesus said to Peter, "Follow me." But rather than accepting immediately, Peter looked toward John and asked Jesus, in effect, "But what about him?" How often I've been tempted with this very question in my life. Taking our eyes off of the Christ, the true discipleship, we become distracted by what others might be doing or saying. Jesus' response was pointed: "What is that to thee?" And one last time he said, "Follow thou me."
I've learned over the years that this Christ call is the call to be resurrected out of a dull and limited sense of life and purpose to one of joy and spiritual growth. We cannot deny the call, because we are truly one with our Father, just as Jesus taught. The call is within us, and so is our ability to respond to it. Jesus' mission to make known to the world the healing and saving Christ through his life of love, sacrifice, and triumph began in small fishing villages, in an ancient civilization. But his powerful, timeless message burns in our hearts today, and, if we will let it, becomes our life mission as well.
