On the first weekend after Pentecost we were reminded that we, who call  ourselves Christians, are called to be saints, that is people who are willing to embrace the Jesus way of living. Then, on this second weekend after Pentecost, we are reminded of the calling of the first Apostles – Andrew, James and John – as a way of encouraging us to follow Jesus. Think about their response to Jesus’ call. It was immediate! They literally dropped what they were doing and      followed Him without any hesitation. They placed their trust in Jesus despite the fact that they had no idea what following Him would mean to their lives. There was something about Jesus that attracted them. He gave them hope! His words helped them find the meaning and purpose of their lives.

We also know from Gospels that they, in turn, invited others to likewise follow Jesus. For example, Andrew immediately asked his brother Peter to follow Jesus. Peter listened to his brother and trusted that Andrew would not lead him astray. The result, of course, was spectacular. Peter became the leader of the followers of Jesus.

What, you might ask, does all this have to do with us? Jesus isn’t living in our world today and we are not directly called by Him!

From the Gospels we also have this wonderful quote from Jesus to Thomas: Blest are they who have not seen and have believed. We have the witness of thousands of people – saints – who have followed the way of Jesus. They call us just like Andrew called Peter. We have the witness of countless martyrs who   believed so strongly in the message of Jesus that they were willing to die before denying their belief in Him. They call us. That should tell us something.

We have the New Testament and the writings of the Fathers of our Church that also bear witness to the power of the Jesus message. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who, over the course of the last 2,000 years, have embraced the Christian way of life.

I truly believe that if we are honest, we know that the way of living espoused by our modern society does not bring insight into the meaning and purpose of our earthly existence and doesn’t bring personal peace. The way of living our modern world promotes only brings fear and disillusionment. It cannot bring the peace for which, if we are honest, we so deeply desire and hope.