Our daily reflections follow the M'Cheyne Bible reading plan, designed for those who want to read the whole Bible in one year. Each reflection focuses on one of the chapters from that day's readings. Darllenwch rhain yn Gymraeg.
Lord, open my ears to hear what you have to say to me; open my heart to love your word, and open my mind to understand your truth.
Jesus called 12 men to follow him and become the nucleus of the Church. They were, to put it mildly, a ragtag bunch – fishermen, a tax collector and possibly even a terrorist among them. We don't know how he chose them, but it looks from the stories as if it's almost by accident; they were people he happened to meet. If so, this is a powerful lesson: God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called.
The idea of 'calling' is embedded in our idea of discipleship; a disciple is a 'follower' who answers Jesus' call, and every Christian is a disciple. But we need to be careful how we read these stories about the first apostles. The fishermen left their nets (verse 11); Levi or Matthew left his office (verse 28); even Judas – possibly a 'sicarius' or 'dagger-man' – presumably left whatever he was doing. But most of us are called by Jesus to stay where we are, working in our office or cafe or factory or shop. Very few are called to leave everything and become 'ministers of the gospel', professional pastors and teachers.
Christians who get their living from the gospel know it can be a really hard calling. But in some ways it's even harder for those who are called to discipleship in an ordinary working or family environment, navigating the temptations, tensions and opportunities which those bring. We're all called to follow Jesus. How do we bear witness to him when leaving everything and following him means staying right where we are?
God, give me wisdom to discern how to follow Jesus where you have placed me, and the courage to do what's hard even when it costs me.
This reflection was written by Mark Woods, Bible Society's Editor
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