Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!
And they left their nets at once, and followed him (Matthew 4:20).
In the Gospel passage read on the second Sunday after Pentecost (Matthew 4:18-23), we observe the faith and obedience of the first two Apostles, Andrew, and his brother, Peter. Jesus called them while they were hard at work, but they did not delay in responding. They did not say, "Give us a few days to think it over." Then and there, they left everything and followed Jesus. After His resurrection He would send them and their fellow Apostles throughout the world to preach the Gospel of Salvation “to the ends of the universe.”
Christ found Peter and Andrew, James and John engaged in their work: two of them were casting out fishing nets into the sea, while the other two were repairing nets. These were men who lived by manual labor — by the toil and sweat of their own hands — and it was not by accident that Jesus called such men to follow Him.
During the course of history, many ignorant people have stigmatized Christianity as a religion that does not recognize the value of hard work, as a religion that demands the constant recitation of prayers and ceaseless meditation upon spiritual writings. Nothing could be farther from the truth. There is a time for work, as well as a time for worship. A basic principle of Christianity is what Paul expressed to the Christians of Thessalonica when he wrote, "And while we were with you, we gave you the order, 'If anyone doesn't want to work, he shouldn't eat.' We hear that some of you are living a lazy life, not doing any work,

but being busybodies. Such people we order and encourage by the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and eat their own bread" (II Thessalonians 3:10-12). It is the teaching of Christianity that every honest labor is blessed by God. Christ, Himself God, worked here on earth, and said, "My Father is still working, and so am I" (John 5:17).
As we reflect upon the story of the call of the Apostles, we not only recall their hard-working origins, but also note that they possessed a spirit of loving obedience. This is a great virtue, and also a necessity in life — the obedience of the young to their elders, of the Christians to their Church — the obedience of all men to the call of God. As soon as the Apostles heard the summons of Christ, they left all and followed Him. Some will say, "Christ called His Apostles and they followed Him, full of faith and confidence. If Christ were here on earth now, and He called me, I would follow, too." But Christ is calling us now. The Gospel we are given to preach is the Good News of Christ. The Church which teaches us is Christ's Church.
As we enter into the summer months, months in which we normally have more time for rest, relaxation, and reflection, let us reflect upon our own response to the Lord’s call to follow Him. Let us ask ourselves how well – and ho readily- we give ourselves to the work of living and proclaiming the Gospel. Let us reflect upon the nature of our obedience to the Lord and His Church. And let us ask that the virtues of work and obedience to the Lord will be part of our daily lives.

With love in the Risen Lord,
Father David