First reading Romans 10:9-18
Faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ
If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
But they will not ask his help unless they believe in him, and they will not believe in him unless they have heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but as scripture says: The footsteps of those who bring good news are a welcome sound. Not everyone, of course, listens to the Good News. As Isaiah says: Lord, how many believed what we proclaimed? So faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ. Let me put the question: is it possible that they did not hear? Indeed they did; in the words of the psalm, their voice has gone out through all the earth, and their message to the ends of the world.
Responsorial Psalm 18(19):2-5
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Gospel Matthew 4:18-22
‘I will make you fishers of men’
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ And they left their nets at once and followed him. Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.
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Follow me
In today’s gospel, Jesus walked past Simon, Andrew, James and John as they were going about their daily work and routines and said to them, “Follow me”. They responded to His call and allowed God to work in and through their lives. Through them, people encountered God.
Likewise, Jesus calls us to follow Him in the midst of our daily routines, tasks and experiences. He calls us to follow Him and go beyond where we are in our discipleship, to take on new steps in loving others more, to participate in the mission of sharing the Good News with others, etc. We might hesitate to respond to Jesus’ call because of fear and indifference. However, if we take the steps to do as He tells us, we will find that He uses our lives to bring goodness and love to others. Andrew and the rest left everything and chose to follow Jesus. Today, may we trust in Jesus and have the courage to allow Him to work powerfully in us and through us for the good of others.
Reflective question:
Jesus says, “Follow me”. What is my response to Him?
Jesus says, “Follow me”. What is my response to Him?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
