It is time for Jesus to assemble His Disciples and begin His Ministry. This is where we as Catechists focus so much of our time teaching and preaching to our students. This is when it all begins.
Jesus starts off by calling on 2 sets of brothers to join Him, to follow Him. One day they are ordinary fishermen, the next they are called upon by Christ! So, without hesitation, they drop everything and go. Now they have a new loyalty, a new way of life. To be fishermen for all people.
The men’s immediate positive response has brought many to wonder, why? Why would they drop everything; their jobs, family, everything they know and venture off following His path. Jesus does not even tell them exactly what they will be doing. No details or promises. He doesn’t even tell them when or if they will return. They have only their faith to go on.
So, when we as Catechists are teaching our children this story and many others about Jesus, we must remember we too are disciples of Christ. Here to preach and teach and even try to spiritually heal. We may not always know exactly how to do that or always know the perfect words to say but we know we want “our” children to grow in their love of their faith and develop a real loving relationship with God. That much we do know.
It’s easy to stay back where life is secure and comfortable but just think about those fishermen. If they didn’t take a risk, trust their faith and choose to follow Jesus, their future would have been much different.
The Wisemen were seekers of knowledge in a world where the physical sciences were unknown. It is easy to dismiss such seekers by thinking of them as astrologers or magicians, but that would be wrong. Much of what we call WISDOM LITERATURE in the Old Testament was written by people like them who were trying to figure out the human condition and the meaning of life.
It is strange that for all of our modern knowledge we are still trying to figure those things out. One look at the world today tells us that we have miles to go in doing just that. If we have gained so much wisdom about our world and ourselves, how is it that starvation, violence, poverty and yes - even loneliness still haunts us.
The Wisemen of scripture probably knew they would never find all the answers, but in the Christ child they saw a solution to most of the problems that plague human kind. We don’t need the wisdom that the Wisemen were seeking, but we do need the Christ that they found for in Him wisdom and grace come together. With God’s grace and the wisdom of Jesus Christ no problem is insurmountable, but as God the Father reminds us, who speaks of the Israelites in the Old Testament, our hearts must be opened to Jesus the Savior.
May the grace of God and the wisdom of our Lord guide us, and our parish, in the New Year… May we be a source of blessing and hope to the world!