We all know the modern process of recruiting
or hiring employees. Involves at lot of things: presentation of CV, having interviews
and so on. So, if we present this event of recruiting these followers of Christ
in the context of our time I don’t know whether Jesus could accept them. With a modern psychological testing and skill
assessment by experts in human resource management, someone suggested that if
Jesus had sent his apostles for these tests this might be the reply he would
have received:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of
the twelve men that you have picked for managerial positions in your new
organization. All of them have taken our battery of tests. We have tabulated
the results through our database and have arranged personal interviews for each
of them with a staff psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. It is the
staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education
and vocational aptitude for your enterprise.
In short, they exhibit no team concept.
Simon
Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper.
Andrew
demonstrates no qualities for leadership.
The
brothers, James and John, place personal interest above team loyalty.
Thomas
shows a skeptical attitude that could undermine morale.
Matthew,
the tax collector has been blacklisted by the Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.
James
the son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings and
registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.
One of the candidates, however, shows
real potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well and
has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible.
We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man.
These are the people Jesus called, chose
them and made of them his apostles. What is the meaning of this for us? When
Jesus says, “I will make you fishers of people,” what does he mean? I think when
he says, “I will make you fishers of people,” he is describing the
transformation of their lives. This is not simply about changing careers, or
leaving our families, or moving to a new town. The encounter with Jesus should
bring about a radical change in our life. Jesus calls us, he uses us,
regardless our weakness because he is the one to transform our lives. He calls
you and me today. The important message is that whatever your life is, whatever
your job is, however you spend your time, there is Jesus coming to you and
meeting you in that particular situation and saying “Follow me.” “Follow me” is
the call to participate with God in God’s own saving work. The problem with us
is that when Jesus says, “Follow me,” we immediately reply “Where are we going?
What will we do? How long will we be gone? What do we need to take? Where will
we stay?”
If we heard the gospel well, these
questions are not there. Jesus does not offer a map, an itinerary, or a
destination, He offers only an invitation: follow me. This is not the type of
journey you can prepare for. This is the inner journey, a journey into the
deepest part of our being, the place where God resides. It’s not about planning
and organizing, making lists of thing to take, or packing supplies. This
journey is about leaving everything behind. Listen to what Matthew says:
•“Immediately
they left their nets and followed him.”
•“They
left their father Zebedee and the boat…, and followed him.”
The
invitation, “follow me,” is also the invitation to leave everything behind; to
leave behind our nets, our boats, and even our fathers. That’s the hard part
for most of us. We’re pretty good at accumulating and clinging to things; but
not so good at letting go. This gospel tells us that our spiritual growth involves
some kind of letting go; some kind of detachment. We never get anywhere new as
long as we’re unwilling to leave where we are. Accepting Jesus’ invitation to
follow him is not about packing up stuff, but it is letting go. The important
question for us is what are the nets on which we cling so much? What are the
little boats that contain our life? Who are the fathers from whom we need to
depart? What do we need to let go of and leave behind so that we might follow
him who is calling us?
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