Today's Gospel in Art: 'Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men'

The Old Fisherman or 'Dying Seneca', 2nd century Roman copy of Hellenistic original © Musée du Louvre, Paris

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 10th January 2022 - Mark 1:14-20

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. 'The time has come' he said 'and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.'

As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake - for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, 'Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.' And at once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.

Reflection on the Ancient Roman Sculpture

Our sculpture is a 2nd-century Roman copy of an earlier Hellenistic statue. Kept at the Louvre in Paris, it has been known by two titles: 'The Old Fisherman' and 'Dying Seneca'. Rubens used this very model for portraying Seneca in an identical pose with the right arm outstretched and the left hand lowered. The detailing of the carving is exquisite: see for example the veins in the neck and the upper chest. Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1576-1623) acquired the statue and was completely fascinated by it. It was subsequently sold to Napoleon in 1807, which is how it ended up in Paris. The main reason it is believed to portray a fisherman is that below the knee the statue finishes. It never had full-length legs. Thus it portrays a man standing in low waters holding a fisherman's net that connects the two hands.

In our Gospel reading today Jesus is calling four disciples. He called them each by name and told them he would make them fishers of men. The phrase 'Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men' is a beautiful one, as it shows how Jesus meets people where they are and in what they are doing, and talks to them in language they would understand. If these four would have been doctors, how would have said, that He would make them healers of men, or of they were any other profession, he would have addressed them where they were and in a language they understood. No matter what background we have, what profession we work in, or whatever our circumstances, He is calling us in a unique way, in the unique reality in which each of us lives. But of course to be fishers of men is a wonderful metaphor for us all to cast our own nets of living out the Gospels, in order to catch people's hearts for God's glory.

Fish will not jump by themselves into a boat! To catch any fish, fishermen like the man depicted in our sculpture need to set sail, navigate their boats to where the fish are, cast the nets and work hard. Sometimes they will catch loads; sometimes very little…

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/1049
Christian Art - www.christian.art