Leaving it All

Gospel: Mark 1: 14-20

We have received over time a false idea that the first disciples of Jesus were poor fishermen, but this is not the case.  Yes, they were fishermen, but they were not poor.  As today's Gospel portion notes, they had employees and they owned boats, indicating they were men of means.  Later in the Gospels these men will say to Jesus that they have left everything to follow him - what will they receive in return.  That is the lament of someone of wealth, not of poverty.

They follow Jesus because he takes up the ministry of John the Baptist after he was arrested.  He proclaims the message of repentance and the kingdom of God being at hand now.  They may have had the idea initially that this kingdom was going to be an earthly, institutional one and that in giving up their fishing business they would be rewarded with governmental power and wealth, ruling over the new and restored nation of Israel.

But the kingdom of God is not an institution.  It is a way of living in whatever time, place, and government in which one finds themselves.  It is about going from place to place doing good, extending love and mercy to all who need it, providing healing, liberation, and nourishment at table. For such will always be needed in every time and place, such is what these men eventually fell in love with and committed themselves to it with a love that transformed them.