Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jon 3:1-5, 10
1 Cor 7:29-31
Mk 1:14-20

The man comes walking down the lakeshore, a group of people following him. There’s a buzz in the air about things he has done, things he has said. He walks past the brothers Simon and Andrew. They are fishermen, casting their nets into the Sea of Galilee. He calls to them, “Come after me,” and they abandon their nets to follow him. Farther down the shore he passes James and John, the sons of Zebedee, also fishermen. As they sit in their boat with their father Zebedee and the hired men he calls to them to follow him. They drop their nets, jump out of the boat, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat and follow him. What about Zebedee? What did he do? How did he feel? What was his reaction? Perhaps he simply sat there in stunned silence, watching his sons disappear down the beach with this man. Perhaps he tried to stop them. I can see Zebedee chasing them down the beach shouting at them, “Come back here! Where do you think you are going? We have work to do, a business to run, a family to feed.” He may have tried to stop them, but ultimately could not. Did he disown them, did he abandon them as he felt they had abandoned him? Or, did he approve of their going? Perhaps he even assisted them as they entered this new life. Maybe he went with them. We really don’t know. The only mention of Zebedee in Scripture that I can find is as the father of James and John. What did Zebedee do? What do we do when we find ourselves in the position that Zebedee found himself in? Should a loved one come to us, expressing a call to follow Christ in a new way, a deeper way, how do we react? Do we stare in stunned silence? Do we try to talk them into being “reasonable,” standing in the way intentionally or not? Or do we encourage them, perhaps even following them on the journey? When I approached my wife about entering the diaconate, I put her in the place of Zebedee. I’m sure she stared at me in stunned silence for a moment, but then she had to make the choice Zebedee had to make. Stop this, or allow it. Obviously, she chose to allow it, she chose to accompany me, so that we made this journey together. Someone comes to us, expressing a desire to follow Christ in a new way, a more meaningful way. It doesn’t have to be as big a commitment such as the diaconate, or entering the priesthood, or religious life. Perhaps it is just a change in attitude, a desire to do and know more. Perhaps they are simply taking their faith and their relationship with God more seriously. They approach us for approval, they make us Zebedee. How do we choose to react?

Deacon John
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jan. 25, 2009