The word “Gospel” means good news, and St Mark’s intention behind his Gospel is to persuade his listeners and readers that, despite the persecution they were undergoing, it really was “good news.” He does this by showing Jesus in action. There are far fewer of the teachings of Jesus in St Mark’s Gospel than in the other Gospels. He talks about Jesus teaching but, apart from the parables, the Jesus we encounter is the person who heals and nourishes and calls people to follow Him. The kingdom is Mark’s description of the presence of God, brought about through and in the person of Jesus, and it is the person of Jesus who is the good news. Simon and Andrew, James and John are going about their daily activities, fishing and preparing to fish. With his joke about now being made “fishers of men” rather than of fish, Jesus calls them and, immediately, they follow Him. There is no debate or discussion, seemingly not even farewells. The meeting with Jesus is sufficient for them to get up and go.
We are all at different stages of our lives. Probably few of us are at the point where we are looking for what is missing in our lives. Some of us may, like the people of Nineveh in the first reading, have become stuck in a rut that we would like to change but lack the willpower or conviction. Others of us may, like the apostles, be happily dealing with our daily lives without giving too much thought to what Christ might be asking of us over and above that. Others may have experienced that change that comes about through the encounter with Christ and are trying to tread a path that expresses that deeper commitment. At the start of a New Year, at the start of a reading once again of a different Gospel, it is a good time to renew our awareness of what our belief in Christ means. As with the experience of the apostles, it is not so much a question of reflecting on ourselves but asking what we think Christ is asking of us. Who is this person who wanders into our lives and asks us to follow Him? And can we get up and follow Him, even though we don’t know where He is leading us? During this year St. Mark’s Gospel will help us to discern that path.