Read Matt 4:12-23
Contemplation
As we leave the wilds, the sand becomes more like earth, the strange noises are gone and we notice people. The smell of cooking fires and the creak of wagons, all the signs of home, are back. Not everything is going well. Someone tells us there’s danger at home.
John has been taken away by soldiers. Where to now? Well, there’s a town called Capernaum – it’s a few days’ walk away from Nazareth but close enough to keep in touch with friends and family. We travel through the green but rocky country. Suddenly we can smell the lake, and fish being dragged up from the waters’ edge to the shouts of fishermen. Boats are being unloaded.
Two men, Simon and Andrew, are throwing a net to catch fish. “Come on,” says Jesus, “if you follow me you can catch people instead of fish!”. Another pair of brothers, James and John, join us too and, as we walk into town, there’s a real crowd. Shouts and calls follow us as we walk the stone streets of the town, the heat pouring off the buildings. People are sick, lonely, afraid, and crowds of them follow us into the cool of the synagogue – and Jesus is there for them.
Talk to Jesus and the newcomers. What do they say?
How do I feel when I hear bad things have happened to my friends?
What is fishing for people all about? Do I catch people? Can I?
When people come to me, where is Jesus?