YOU HAVE COME
DOWN TO THE LAKESHORE
You have come
down to the lakeshore seeking neither the wise nor the wealthy,
but only asking
for me to follow.
Refrain
Sweet Lord, you
have looked into my eyes; kindly smiling, you’ve called out my
name.
On the sand I
have abandoned my small boat; now with you, I will seek other
seas.
You know full
well what I have, Lord; neither treasure nor weapons for conquest,
just these my
fish nets and will for working. (Refrain)
You need my
hands, my exhaustion, working love for the rest of the weary –
a love that’s
willing to go on loving. (Refrain)
You who have
fished other waters; you, the longing of souls that are yearning:
O loving Friend,
you have come to call me. (Refrain)
Text: Cesareo
Gabarain, 1936-1991; Tr. Madeleine Forell Marshall, b. 1946
Used by
permission. © 1979 OCP Publications, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland,
OR 97213 All rights reserved.
As Jesus came
down to the lakeshore of Galilee, he found Peter and Andrew, James
and John. Jesus was looking for volunteers. He was conducting his
own job fair. For Jesus, a specialist in job placement, this was
personal. The recruits would be working for, with, around and
under his direct supervision. We do not know what conversation
took place that day. Only the words of Jesus: “Come, follow me; I
will make you fish for people.”
Even today Jesus
continues to seek out those who will follow him. It does not
matter who we are
— man or woman, child, teenager, senior citizen
— or where we have been in our lives. Jesus calls us to
follow. As common, ordinary people, we are called to carry the
Gospel message, the good news of Christ, to all the world. And the
greatest job benefit ever offered is in the words of Jesus: “I am
with you always, to the end of the age.”
The call to
discipleship, to follow Jesus, is for each and every one of us.
Jesus is looking for personnel in a very personal way. “You
have come to call me.” From the very beginning, the coming of
Jesus was personal. The angel said to the shepherds: “I am
bringing you good news, for to you this day is born
a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” And, in the words of our
baptism: “I baptize you.” And as Jesus comes to us in Holy
Communion: “This is my body, my blood, given and shed for you.”
Jesus, still
today, is personally looking, searching, asking us to follow him.
The first disciples had no idea what they were getting into when
they began to follow Jesus. Nor do we. So, will we say “yes”? Will
we answer his call to “follow me”?
Jesus, I thank
you for your promise to always be with me. Lord, when you ask me
to follow you, how can I keep from singing the good news of Jesus
to all the world?
Larry Frank,
Parish Ministry Associate
