Jesus says, “Come After Me”

And Jesus makes his way along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, finding Simon and Andrew. As he enters their life, he says to them, “Come after me.” The brothers abandoned their nets and followed him. Proceeding a little further along the shores, Jesus says the same to James and John; they, too, follow, leaving their nets and their father. Following this man, Jesus is more important to them than catching fish and making a living. And now, with these four first Apostles in his company, Jesus continues to proceed to his destiny, reconciling the world to himself.  

Jesus’ call of “Come after me” was meant not only for the first disciples but also resonates throughout history. In the year three hundred eighty-six, Jesus makes his way to Milan on a warm August day. He passes through a garden attached to a house where a man named Aurelius Augustinus is staying. A man who did not follow in his mother Monica’s faith and lived a life devoid of any religion.

He fathered a son out of wedlock and refused to marry the mother of his child, not because he did not love her, but because marriage would not advance his career. Aurelius Augustinus had his sights set high; he proceeded through schools at the head of his class, destined to become a professor himself, a professor of Rhetoric, the most dignified of all teachers. This was a young man with a bright future, and his focus was intent on its fulfillment.

In the finest schools and making a name for himself, his fame spread throughout the land. With all of his earthly accolades, something was still missing. In a garden by himself, Augustinus felt confused and lost; his life was empty. The voice of Jesus was made audible through the voice of a little child, who kept chanting, “Tolle lege, tolle lege,” translated as “take up and read.”              

Rushing back to the house, Augustine picked up a bible and turned almost automatically to the letters of St. Paul. Those words from St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit and by the constant prayers of Monica, finally break open his heart to hear the call of Jesus, “Come after me,” Aurelius Augustinus was baptized a Catholic and is commonly known as St. Augustine, one of the most prominent authors in Christian theology.  Saint Augustine will not stop teaching but will now teach the Good News.

And Jesus proceeded; he came to a castle in Loyola in 1521. Inside the castle lay a thirty-year-old man named Inigo. Inigo lay in bed recuperating; a cannonball had shattered his leg as he and his Spanish comrades fought an attacking French army. Taken back to the castle in Loyola, Inigo’s leg had already been set wrong and had to be broken again and reset. Bored and unable to walk, he called for novels of chivalry to read. Novels that captured his dreams of romance and military triumphs. But no such novels could be found in the house. Instead, only two books were offered: one on the life of Christ and the other about his saints. Desperate to pass the time away, he began to read what was offered. His days before were filled with daydreams fantasizing about being a knight of worldly renown and courting a beautiful, noble lady.

Soon, the daydreams faded as he read the only two books offered to him. The thoughts turned from earthly knighthood to a divine knighthood in Christ. Hearing the voice of Christ speak through the pages of these books and the wanderings of his mind, Inigo realized that his dream as a soldier of Christ offered more peace and consolation than his dreams of knighthood and chivalry. The words of Jesus, making their way through daydreams and books, prompt the conversion and transformation of the soldier Inigo into Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

In September of 1946, Mother Theresa, already a nun, heard Jesus’ call within a call to minister to the poor. On a train ride to her annual retreat, Theresa received inspiration and a message from God to “Come to his light.” He revealed his pain for the neglect of the poor. He asked Mother Teresa to establish a religious community, Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. “On 21 December, she went to the slums for the first time. She visited families, washed the sores of some children, cared for an old man lying sick on the road, and nursed a woman dying of hunger and TB. She started each day in communion with Jesus in the Eucharist and then went out, rosary in her hand, to find and serve Him in the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for.”

In 2021, when healthcare workers were mandated to take the vaccine or be dismissed, nurse Eileen followed her conscience and refused to be injected with an untested vaccine. Predictably, she lost her job and wondered what she would do with her life now that her 30-plus-year career was over.  She had always supported the Pro-Life movement, and she heard the call from Jesus, “Come follow me.” Soon, she realized that instead of ministering to sick patients, she would continue her ministry differently by helping the most vulnerable in our society.  

The year 2023 was not good for Sam; he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. After the usual cycle of denial, anger, and acceptance, Sam agreed to the suggested chemotherapy route and found himself exhausted and feeling terrible. After treatments, Sam had five terrible days in which he could hardly function. On the sixth day of relative calm, Sam heard the voice of Jesus, “Come follow me.” For the first time in his life, he had the time to listen and was transformed by grace not to let his illness be without some merit. Then, he offered his pain in reparation for the sins of his past, his family, and any who would benefit from his sacrifice. Sam is still alive at the time of this writing. Perhaps many need his sacrificial prayer.

Jesus’ call to follow him is a request that echoes throughout history and even today, as it has been with Augustine, Ignatius, Mother Theresa, Eileen, and Sam. Jesus proceeds a little further in 2024 and is headed down the street where you live to ask you to follow him.