The gospel this week is about Jesus calling his disciples, particularly, Andrew, Peter, James and John, to become fishers of men. How is it that they dropped what they were doing, their livelihood, and family and way of life to follow Jesus?
Our authors this week look through the lens of the writer of the gospel of Mark, Paul's letter to the Corinthians, and even the Jonah's mission to the Assyrians, as well as the times in which they were written, to give us insight into why, and how, the disciples answered Jesus' call.
There is more to the term "evangelical," which comes from the Greek εὐαγγέλιον (euangélion), or "good news, although "good news" it is! See Dan Clendenin's "Evangelicals: When Labels are Libels." The urgency of getting the good news out, in God's time (καιρός - kairos) is viewed in the urgency of the time ( Χρόνος - chronos) Paul's letter and the gospel of Mark were written. The challenge is to see, believe, and act in God's time, with the love, forgiveness and compassion God showed the Ninevites in Jonah's story, and which is recognized in this week's Psalm. As this week's gospel begins, "The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near, repent (turn around - renew your minds and thoughts and hearts), and believe in the good news. That's what grabbed the disciples, and that is what can grab you and me.
See also, Beth Scibienski's "Irresistible Grace," Sister Kim Harris' Commentary, Exposition, and Reflection (all separate short articles), and Fr. Rick Morley's "time fulfilled - a reflection on Mark 1:14-20."
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