The Apostle
Brethren, glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. All who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law. For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the Law do by nature what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law. They show that what the Law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Rom. 2:10-16)
The Gospel
At that time, as Jesus was walking 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 fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. And He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. (Matt. 4:18-23)
- For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. Here, the Lord is very categorical. It is not enough just to hear what God says (of course it is not bad). It is so important to do what we hear God says. In another place, Christ says again clearly: Not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21). So let us remember this, such that Christ shall not say to us in the judgment: „If I had not told you …, you would not have had sin …”
- We are all called, but not all of us have the same call. From the Scripture, we learn that there were more people who would have wanted to follow Christ as the disciples followed him, but the Lord gave them another direction. For example, a man haunted by the Devil and saved from this infirmity, when Christ entered into the ship to cross to the other side of Lake Ghenizaret, this man went to Him and told Him that he wanted to follow Him wherever He went. But Christ the Lord said to him: Return to your own house, and say how great things God had done to you (Luke 8.39). These words are guiding words. Just as Christ called some of them and said to them, Follow Me!, he said to others, as he said to that man, ”Go back to your own house, and say how great things God had done to you; Tell them how well God had done to you and how he had loved you”. That’s their call. There was one who also said to the Lord: Master, I will follow You wherever You go. And Jesus sad to Him: Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has not where to lay his head (Matthew 8.19-20). As if he would have said: “Be careful, do you want to follow Me? Do you know what that means? It means you will not have a place for yourself”. Of course, these are exceptional things; We have not to imagine that it is wrong, if we have a house, if we have a household, if we have a place in this world, if we work, prepare food for ourselves and for others. There are the ordinances of God, but He calls some of us in some way, others in another way. What is important? Let us respond to the God`s call, as much as we have the power. Of course, if we want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven … if not ……….