Our Venerable Father Pimen
Read
2 Corinthians 5:15-21; Mark 1:16-22
All four evangelists recount the calling of the first disciples which we read in today’s Gospel from the Gospel of Mark. This first encounter between Jesus and His disciples is an important part of the ministry of Jesus, and its presence in all four Gospels attests to its importance.
The Church, in her wisdom, arranged the lectionary in such a way that we do not hear this Gospel account just one time or in one particular season of the year. Rather, we hear it no less than five times during the liturgical year, and it is spread out, beginning with Bright Wednesday (Gospel of John), followed by the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost (Gospel of Matthew), the Tuesday of the 12th Week after Pentecost (Gospel of Mark), the 18th Sunday after Pentecost (Gospel of Luke), and finally the 1st Sunday of the Great Fast (Gospel of John).
This particular Gospel encounter, with its multiple repetitions in a single liturgical year, reminds us that the call to discipleship is not a one-time event but rather a repeated re-affirmation of that which we promised or was promised on our behalf by our Godparents at our baptism. Our Christian Initiation happened once, but our call to and acceptance of discipleship is a daily choice that only we can make. This arrangement reminds us of the importance of discipleship by giving us this Gospel encounter again and again so that we never forget that we are disciples of Christ!