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 sea—for they were fishers. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of 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.
Matthew 4:18-22
STORY
In 1946, a California lawyer needed a change in his life. Searching the want-ads in a Whittier newspaper he read this: “Wanted: Congressional candidate with no previous political experience to defeat a man who has represented the district in the House for 10 years. Any young man resident of district, preferably a veteran, fair education, may apply for job.” The ad was read by Richard Milhous Nixon, and his political career was launched all the way to the White House.
THOUGHTS
We are called to seek a vocation that is both personally rewarding and productive for the larger community. Some will be employed in the trades, others will be employed in the professions; but everyone equally makes a contribution to the benefit of society. Though, there is a singular calling to which we all must adhere, and that is to be disciples of the Lord. Jesus himself made this clear when he said to the fishermen Peter and Andrew, “Come, follow me.” We know from the gospel stories that Peter and Andrew continued to fish, but their primary focus was always on serving Jesus. This demands that we assess our vocations and how we parallel what we do at work and outside of work, being sure that all that we do is in service to our Lord. Let us enjoy the vocations to which we have been called, being sure that serving Jesus takes precedence above all other duties.
When I was a minister separating work from non-work was nearly impossible. A number of factors contributed to this. One was that I lived in a parsonage that was always located next door to the church, which means that I was always present. Also, as a pastor, I was always expected to be “on-call.” A declared day off still required that I was always available. Though, I do believe that all Christians reside in the same spiritual environment. If an individual accepts the call to be a disciple, then they will also accept to always being present and to always being on-call.