Drop Everything

This Sunday's Gospel reading, Matthew 4:12-23, continues with the early parts of Jesus' ministry. We hear of his second encounter with Andrew who last Sunday left John the Baptist and this Sunday leaves his family business.

"Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,   on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people who sat in darkness   have seen a great light,and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death   light has dawned.’From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people."

 Andrew, Peter, James, and John all left their nets and followed Jesus. A net is something that traps things, confining and holding them. The more the net catches, the heavier it gets, and the harder it is to drag it through the water. The nets that we tend are all those things in life that hold us back, all those things that keep us from following Jesus.

If only we could be more like Jesus' first disciples and drop our nets, dropping all those things that we desire more than our desire to walk with him.