Daily Gospel Reflection for November 30, 2016 - St. Andrew

Today's Gospel: Matthew 4, 18-22 - St. Andrew

The Scripture verse is a simple call to priesthood and religious life: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” It is an invitation. The challenge for those soon-to-be apostles could be our challenge as well; they didn’t ‘know’ Jesus. Who was this man who was asking them to leave their jobs? They didn’t know him; they had never even heard of him and they certainly didn’t have a personal relationship with him. Yet Simon, Andrew, James and John did ‘Come after him’ and in the process gave everything: their income, their families and, eventually, their lives to follow Jesus.

What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus? We give and take; we talk and listen; we ask what we can give and give what we are asked to share and we pray. Developing a deep, intimate, personal relationship with Jesus is a lifelong journey and begins with responding to Christ’s invitation, “Come after me”.

Ponder:

What do we need to drop from our lives today in order to take up Jesus’ request to follow Him?

Pray:

St. Andrew, on your feast day today, help us to clear our mind of the clutter that keeps us focused on our own to-do list and in its place help us to open our heart to hear how we can follow Jesus today. Amen.

Copyright 2016 Jeanne Wells

Jeanne Wells is mom of two and Gramma to five, plus a cat! She is the co-host of drive-time 'Jon and Jeanne in the Morning' on Iowa Catholic Radio and is the executive director of the Catholic Tuition Organization.