As you listen to this week’s gospel you might be forgiven if you have a certain feeling of déjà vu. The reason for this is that we’re hearing the same account of Jesus calling his first disciples, but we hear it this week from a slightly different point of view. Last week our account came from the Gospel of John and this week it comes from the Gospel of Mark. In his gospel, St. John pays very meticulous attention to symbolism and there is usually a deeper meaning to the phrases and images he uses. St. Mark on the other hand is brief and factual in his writing. We can certainly appreciate these differences when we compare their two accounts of Jesus calling his disciples. John stresses the point of encounter; he highlights the phrase “the lamb of God” and he has that beautiful exchange when the disciples ask Jesus where he is staying. These images point to Jesus’ messianic mission and they also highlight that what Jesus desires is not a band of fans or followers. What Jesus wants are disciples who are closely united in heart and mind.  Mark’s account in contrast omits many of those details but he highlights Jesus’ messianic mission through his call for conversion and repentance.  
As we reflect on these gospel accounts what emerges for us is the image of a God who loves us and calls us by name; a God who calls us out of the patterns of living we’ve settled into and shows us a better way. These passages also remind us of the futility of “Catholic guilt.” It’s good to recognize our brokenness and sinfulness, but it’s not good to wallow in it. Instead, Jesus invites us to turn away from our sins and to follow Him. This life of ongoing conversion frees us from our sinfulness and limitations, and it disposes us to put our lives more easily at the service of God and others. However, before we slip into the temptation of thinking that the Christian mission is some sort of stream of activism where we move from one initiative to the next, we must remember that the golden threads which should bring together everything we do are the call to conversion and the call to discipleship. If we measure our activities by how well they fit within these two calls then we’ll have greater surety that the work we’re engaging in is not just some passing initiative but rather our active participation in the Lord’s work. – Fr. Carlos