Galilee was situated at the extremes of the Holy Land and Matthew stresses Jesus’ decision to start there, almost at the ends of the earth. Jesus is entering into God’s work and we might recall at some time having the sense that we are part of a greater movement, that we are God’s instruments. Matthew sums up Jesus’ message here as “Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. He is calling people to a change of heart, to a new way of seeing and doing things. The Kingdom of Heaven is a vision of what the world would look like if God were in charge instead of human beings.
The story which follows is that of the calling of the fishermen. They responded to Jesus immediately, leaving their boats and nets. Not everyone can drop everything and walk away like they did for a greater cause, but we can certainly learn from their actions. St. Francis of Assisi said: “Preach the Gospel always. If necessary use words”. We might focus on the fishermen’s actions today, stepping out of their boats and following Jesus.
“If we could only see each other as we really are all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed. I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other… the gate of heaven is everywhere.” Thomas Merton.
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