Jesus went to live in Capernaum by the sea only after he heard that John the Baptist had been arrested. Mark tells us in today's Gospel that "he left Nazareth" and "from that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"
Jesus wants some help; he needs others so he is walking by the sea and sees Peter and Andrew casting a net into the sea. Jesus says to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. The "at once" always grabs my attention. Were they waiting to be called? We know from John's Gospel that Andrew and John had followed Jesus and spent a good part of a day with him earlier and Andrew told Peter about Jesus. Had they spent more time with him? I suspect so and were secretly wishing and waiting to follow his call. Maybe they had a desire for something more and did not know what it was until they heard Jesus say, "Come".
Then Jesus walks along and saw James and John in the boat with their father. He called them and immediately they left their father and their boat and followed Jesus.
The grace of a vocation was at work and we see the power and attraction of Jesus in this calling of the first disciples. He is still calling us. What does he ask of me today?
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