Jesus not a one-man show

Homily for Monday of the 1st Week of Ordinary Time
Year II

Year for Priests

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This year we have 6 weeks of ordinary time before Ash Wednesday. There will be 28 weeks of Ordinary Time after Easter. We begin reading today from the very first Gospel to be written, and the shortest Gospel, the Gospel of Mark. Mark gets right to the point, and his narrative of the calling of the first apostles is very simple. Jesus calls. Simon and Andrew, James and John respond. Jesus has his first apostles very directly. He does not have to talk them into it. It is more like a draft than a process of discernment. Of course, if the apostles knew exactly what they were getting themselves into, they would have ran away as fast as they could, as they eventually did at Calvary. But for now, a great teacher, with authority, is asking them to come along for a great adventure. And they are willing. Like a new seminarian who is responding enthusiastically to a feeling that he is called to do something extraordinary with his life, this is how we see the first four apostles respond to the voice of Jesus. They will have second thoughts soon enough. As vocation director, it sure would be great if more guys would respond simply to the Lord's call to be his priests. Lots of guys should be entering seminary. It is a way of following Jesus very closely, and a privileged place to do so. Not everyone will be ordained a priest, but almost all guys make the mistake of over-discerning the priesthood before they have a chance to get close to it, or to know what it really is. The Apostles took the step that was right in front of them. They stopped what they were doing to follow Jesus. They did not try to predict tomorrow. They responded today.

It is important for us to pay attention to what Jesus does in the very first days of his public ministry. In today's Gospel, he makes it clear that he is not going to be a lone ranger. His mission is not to do everything himself. Jesus asks for help. He asks for companions. He knows that his mission is to one day ascend back to His heavenly Father, so he gathers men for formation, men to whom he will one day entrust the mission He has received. That Jesus calls apostles at the very beginning of his ministry shows that His intention to establish a Church that will continue his mission is foremost in His mind and in His plans. It is silly to say that Jesus only came to teach us principles, not to establish a Church. The witness of the Gospels shows just the opposite. May the young people that He is calling today to leave everything to take up His mission within His Church, respond as generously as did those first apostles. Peter and Andrew, James and John, pray for us! +m