Gospel (Jn 1:35-42)

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.”

They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).

He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

Commentary

The Gospel passage that the Church offers us today narrates the vocation of the first disciples, among them that of the evangelist John himself. The Lord’s call to follow him is a moment of special grace, which completely fills the apostle’s heart. And although these words were written at the end of his life, Saint John records the exact time when that encounter with Jesus took place, at 4 in the afternoon.

Commenting on this scene, Saint Josemaría spoke about how John recounts “that first unforgettable conversation with Christ. ‘Master, where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. They went and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.’ This divine and human dialogue completely changed the life of John and Andrew, and Peter and James and so many others. It prepared their hearts to listen to the authoritative teaching which Jesus gave them beside the Sea of Galilee.”^[1]

This episode shows us once again how the call to follow our Lord is linked to the mission of making known the one they have seen and known. It is not a duty or an imposition. Rather it is the natural consequence of a heart that knows the divine love in Jesus’ heart and needs to share it and spread it to others.

^[1] Saint Josemaria, Christ is Passing By, no. 108.