The names of the Apostles can be confusing, other than the principal four: Peter, Andrew, James and John. Yet, the remainder of those names becomes muddled. Sunday’s Gospel lists them this way: Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew the tax collector, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot. Other than Saint Matthew the tax collector, almost all of those men that Jesus called to follow Him came from humble lives. Most of them were fishermen. God called them from humility and, while keeping them humble, the Lord lifted them spiritually to the heights of glory. The calling and the response to that invitation of each Apostle was different. Some were compelled to abandon all immediately when called by Christ. Others responded to the call a bit more slowly, first seeking some knowledge of Christ, then a willingness to follow Jesus at least for a time, and ultimately a willingness to abandon all for their newfound Savior.
The specifics and the timing of when the call was issued and the nature of their responses differ in terms of which Gospel you read, whether it is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt 4:18-22; Mk 1:16-20; or Lk 5:1-11) or in the Gospel according to John (Jn 1:35-51). Saint John reports that Jesus’ first encounter with two of the disciples took place a little earlier than it takes place in the Synoptics and the Lord’s call occurred in the presence of John the Baptist. Both Andrew and another unknown disciple are curious about Jesus and, so, they ask Him where He was staying. Jesus responds, “Come and you will see.” Then, later on, Andrew found his brother Simon and brought Simon Peter to Jesus who said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas…” The next day, Philip is invited to follow Jesus and, then, he goes and finds Nathanael to tell him that they have found the Messiah. After Nathanael expresses doubt in the form of a question, saying, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”
In two of the other Synoptic accounts, from Luke and Matthew, both the call and the response are more radical in nature. Instead of being invited simply to “come and see,” in those accounts of the call, those invited are now asked to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. This type of call is illustrated by looking at the ultimate response made to Jesus. In Saint Luke’s account, envision all of them fishing and putting out into the “deep” at the Lord’s command. Despite the past night’s failure to catch anything, conforming to that command, they set out again and bring in an enormous catch of fish. The miraculous catch of fish draws Peter to his knees, to confess his sinfulness and as a result, Peter and the others leave everything behind to follow Jesus. The passages cited above from Matthew’s Gospel portray an even more immediate and total following of Jesus.
As for Saint Mark’s account, the evangelist presents Jesus as an itinerant teacher. He calls the two brothers Peter and Andrew to be fishers of men. They are summoned to a distinctive kind of service and are required to forsake their current way of earning a living. Mark’s account of this incident records a detail lacking in the others, namely, that James and John also left their father Zebedee behind “along with the hired men.” According to one scholar the “piling up of particulars underscores the full weight of the verb [to leave]: not just nets are left behind, but a named father, a boat and indeed an entire enterprise” (S.W. Henderson. Christology and Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark). In order to follow Jesus, those called by Him have to demonstrate a willingness to allow their identity, status, and worth to be primarily determined, not on the basis of their own efforts, but all of those elements of personal identity and more must be seen solely in relation to Jesus.
Nature and dignity 