Decisive Encounters. Roberto Badenas

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СКАЧАТЬ . The word that our Bibles translate as “church” (ekklesia in Greek) means a gathering of people who have replied to an invitation (Matt. 16:18). “With the calling of John and Andrew and Simon, of Philip and Nathanael, began the foundation of the Christian church.” (Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 86)

      33 . James 2:27.

      34 . Matthew 22:37-40.

      35 . cf. Enrique Rojas, Live your Life, Planeta: Temas de Hoy, 2013, p. 83.

      36 . Luke 8:1-3 states that there were many female disciples; it mentions by name Mary Magdalene, Susanna and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’ household.

      37 . Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 79.

      38 . cf. Philippians 4:11.

      39 . Philippians 4:13.

      40 . Dionisio Byler, Jesus and Nonviolence, Terrassa: Clie, 1993, p. 48.

      41 . Augusto Cury asserts: “If the political, social and educational worlds had minimally experienced what Christ experienced and taught, our miseries would have been eradicated, and we would have been a happier species.” (The Master of Masters, 2008, Thomas Nelson, pp. 189-190)

      42 . “As the flower turns to the sun, that the bright beams may aid in perfecting its beauty and symmetry, so should we turn to the Sun of Righteousness, that heaven’s light may shine upon us, that our character may be developed into the likeness of Christ.” (Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 69)

      43 . Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22.

      3

      The Call

The lake shines under the morning sun, dazzled by the white hamlet of the fishing town and the luminous sand of the beach. Its blue reflection is slightly broken by the breeze, which scatters a flight of seagulls over the still of the waters.1

Leaning against his boat, in the elusive shade of the sails, a young fisherman prepares his nets, while keeping watch over, on a rustic reed bed, a string of fish set out to dry.2

      Repairing knots is not a pleasant task, and least of all after an evening of a fruitless catch.

      With a tired gesture, Simon drops the old net on the sand and swipes the back of his arm across his forehead, pushing his wet curls back. His exposed back, weather-beaten by the elements, shudders for an instant, beaded with sweat.

      Always the same, every day: in the evening, fishing; in the morning, to the market; then, to repair the nets; and much later, to try to sleep . . . to start again by nightfall. And like so, day after day, always the same. As if his life were trapped in nets even more tangled than those in his hands.

      If only we could purchase new netting, we would not have to spend so much time each day repairing these, so worn and torn. But times are bad and loans are difficult to repay. . . .

      Simon remains still, with his gaze lost in the horizon. The gleaming of the sun over the water forces him to half close his dream-filled eyes. He would prefer not to be a mere fisherman all his life, tethered to an old boat and some fragile nets. Especially now that he got married and must support his wife and his mother-in-law.

      To be a fisherman in Capernaum is to doom oneself to a monotonous succession of nights fishing and of days struggling with runaway sleep. It is to continue being embroiled in a hopeless struggle against misery. Nothing can satisfy the desires of a heart like his, thirsty for adventures and (why not?) for greatness.

      Simon dreams, just like some of his fellow fishermen, of getting out of there and filling his inner emptiness with something great. But the only incentive of each workday is the uncertain catch with which to fill the baskets that his wife takes every morning to the market: some days more, others less, but always the same routine.

      Except today, as the Teacher whom his brother Andrew follows has approached him and has asked to borrow His boat. He wanted to speak more thoroughly with a group of followers, who absorb His words and do not let him leave the jetty. The fame of the Galilean has not ceased to spread throughout the region. A mixed crowd wants to hear in person from the man about whom incredible things are said.

      Because the words of the Teacher have such charm that they ensnare like nets.

      Many still remain there, unable to say goodbye, while the children splash around amid laughter and games along the beach.

      Leaning on the boat, barefoot in the water, this tireless man addresses, friendly and patient, the people who crowd around him yearning for words of life. And every so often, extending His hand to the surface of the water, He splashes the little ones who run around teasing him, without caring that the edge of His robe gets wet.

      Returning to his task, Simon’s attention is drawn back to his tangled knots.

      The fisherman continues waiting for a decisive event that will separate him from his ties and transform his monotonous existence into an exciting adventure. Something similar to what his brother believes to have found by following the new Teacher, that rabbi whose charm he can’t seem to escape.

      Other than that, nothing seems to change in his harsh life.

      At the port of Capernaum, in this small inland lake, merchant ships will never arrive from distant lands, through which Simon—who has never been able to leave the surrounding areas—would like to travel.

      Perhaps the army . . . The Romans continue recruiting soldiers for expeditions of conquest in remote regions. Who knows if thanks to Rome he could achieve a bit of glory, and his name would remain immortalized forever in the history of the world. But now that he is married, that sounds too unreal, and those chimeras soon vanish from his mind, erased like footprints in the sand, washed away by the incessant breaking of the waves at his feet.

      His chest, weathered by the water and the sun, slowly rises in a nostalgic sigh and slowly sinks back down, defeated and helpless, such torrent of contained energy, that he does not find—and fears never finding—a channel whereby it would be worthwhile overflowing.

Sitting on the sand, Simon continues repairing the nets, while the sun slides over his tanned skin and sketches elusive shapes upon the rhythmic movement of his robust arms. His thoughts wander without rhyme or reason, crashing against the invisible prison walls of his reality: doomed to be a fisherman his entire life, depending everyday on a basket of fish. His future is discerned at the same time so predictable and uncertain like the waves upon which he risks his life every night to take his measly sustenance from the sea.3

      But that is how the few inhabitants of that fishing town live: He, his brother, his parents, СКАЧАТЬ