The Gospel According to Mark 1:16-20

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,

he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;

they were fishermen.

Jesus said to them,

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Then they left their nets and followed him.

He walked along a little farther

and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.

They too were in a boat mending their nets.

Then he called them.

So they left their father Zebedee in the boat

along with the hired men and followed him.

    There is an immediacy the response to the Lord’s call that is striking.

He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

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 James and John left their father Zebedee, in the middle of their work. If we are to consider Mark’s words literally, they  left him “in the boat” with a bunch of hired hands.

How would we react if that were our children?

Would we let them go?

Do we respect that they have mission, a calling independent of our own from the Lord?

Do we help them and encourage them to discern this calling?

John is the youngest of the Apostles. The general speculation is that he was a teenager at the time of the Crucifixion.

We must consider deeply how we parent our children.

When the Lord calls them, will we let them go?