Discipleship: The Call

Q: Archbishop J, is Jesus calling me to be a disciple?

The four Gospels all begin in the same way: with Jesus calling disciples. From the very beginning of His public ministry, Jesus reveals a clear strategy: He gathers people around Himself to participate in His mission.

A disciple is one who is called by the master to sit at the master’s feet, to learn from him and to follow him. In our case, the Master is Jesus. He calls us, teaches us, and leads us to the Father.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Peter and Andrew are described as “casting their nets into the sea” when Jesus passes by. He says to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Strikingly, Matthew tells us: “At once they left their nets and followed him” (Mt 4:18–20).

Peter and Andrew are in the middle of ordinary life—working, earning, surviving—when Jesus calls. They are literally minding their business. What is extraordinary is not where Jesus finds them, but how they respond.

They leave their nets, their boat, and their livelihood. Immediately after, James and John do the same, even leaving their father behind. Discipleship begins in the ordinary—but it rarely remains convenient.

The threshold of contrition

Luke’s account of the call (Lk 5:1–11) is far more detailed and reveals something essential about discipleship. Peter and his companions have stopped fishing for the night and caught nothing. They are washing and mending their nets when Jesus steps into Peter’s boat to teach the crowd. Afterwards, Jesus turns to Peter and says, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.”

Peter responds honestly: “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

What follows is overwhelming abundance—so much so that the nets begin to tear. Their boat and their partners’ boat are filled almost to sinking. Then comes the unexpected moment. Peter falls at Jesus’ knees and says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

This moment matters deeply. Confronted with God’s generosity and power, Peter does not feel triumphant; he feels small and is moved to humility and contrition. This is the threshold of discipleship, when we have the inner conviction that we stand before a God whose love exceeds ours.

When God truly acts in our lives, the first response is often not confidence, but repentance. “Lord, I am not worthy.” This, too, is part of the call.

Jesus does not reject Peter. Instead, He reassures him: “Do not be afraid; from now on, you will be catching people.” Luke ends with a familiar refrain: “They left everything and followed him.”

Discipleship always passes through contrition before it bears fruit. This moment reminds us that discipleship does not begin with our goodness or our strength, but with God’s grace—freely given, undeserved, and overflowing. Our response is always secondary to His initiative.

A Call that disrupts

When I was 22, I experienced a call not unlike Peter and Andrew’s. My father died while I was still in Form Six at Fatima College. He left behind a small steel-fabrication and auto-body business, balanced precariously between assets and debt. At 19, I stepped into that business. Within three years, it had grown. Six to eight men began working with me, and contracts for housing projects and stability emerged. I was, quite literally, minding my business.

God’s call came—and it was completely inconvenient. It disrupted everything I had built, everything that made sense. Within a short time, I left the business to follow Him.

What marked that season most deeply was not clarity, but contrition. A profound sense of inadequacy before God’s rich love and abundance. The feeling is difficult to explain, but unmistakable when it happens. This, too, is part of the disciple’s journey.

For most people, the call will be far more subtle. It will not demand the immediate abandonment of livelihood, but it will ask for something just as real: a deeper trust, a surrender that feels inconvenient, an invitation to walk with Him more closely.

Where, in the ordinary routines of your own life, might Jesus be standing—calling you to trust Him just a little more than feels comfortable?

Who is called?

Many people believe that discipleship is reserved for priests and Religious. That is simply not true. Scripture is clear: “The Lord called me before I was born; while I was in my mother’s womb he named me” (Is 49:1).

God knew you before you knew yourself. He called you by name and entrusted you with a unique and sacred purpose. Every person is called. The difference is not whether God calls, but whether we listen. Discipleship begins the moment we believe that God is calling us. If we do not expect God to speak, we may never recognise His voice.

Learning to hear the Call

The story of the boy Samuel makes this clear (1 Sam 3). Samuel hears a voice in the night and assumes it is Eli. Three times he runs to him. Only then does Eli realise that it is the Lord who is calling. He instructs Samuel to say: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Once Samuel learns to expect God’s voice, he is able to hear it.

Scripture adds a telling detail: “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.” I believe we are living in a similar moment. Many do not expect God to call, so we rely on habit, tradition, or past experience instead of living attentively before Him. Discipleship begins when we dare to believe that God is still speaking—and that He is speaking to us.

Called to intimacy

Jesus’ call always has a purpose. Mark’s Gospel tells us plainly: “He appointed twelve that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach” (Mk 3:14). The order matters: First, to be with Him—Intimacy. And then, to be sent—Mission.

In John’s Gospel, when the first disciples follow Jesus, He asks them a simple question: “What are you looking for?” They reply, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Jesus answers, “Come and see.” And they remain with Him that day (Jn 1:38–39).

Discipleship is accompaniment. It is learning how to live with Jesus before speaking about Him. Many are eager for mission. But mission without intimacy eventually hollows us out. We cannot live the first commandment—love of God—without learning how to remain with Him.

Jesus later makes this unmistakable: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another—as I have loved you.” Love of God and love of neighbour are the heart of discipleship. To love as He loves, we must first dwell with Him.

The Call, again and again

Discipleship is not a single moment—it is a lifelong rhythm of God’s initiative and our response. Jesus continues to call—into deeper intimacy, deeper trust, and deeper mission.

That response, however, is not without cost. Following Jesus will lead us into moments of uncertainty, testing, and even storms—but always toward deeper freedom and faith.

Recognise the call. Expect it. And when it comes—even if it disrupts everything—have the courage to respond. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Key Message:

God is calling us to discipleship: to be with Him and for the mission.

Action Step:

Ask God to prepare you to listen to and respond to His call. Sit in the silence and say to Him: Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.

Scripture for Reflection:

Luke 5:1–11