In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark the call of the first disciples is straightforward. Jesus sees the two sets of brothers who are fishermen, says “follow me” and they do so. St. Luke gives some background. Jesus had been teaching from their boats, he worked a miracle for them and after some protestation and convincing they followed him. The part of the story that Pope John Paul II focused on was when Jesus “said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Go out into the deep, duc in altum in Latin, and lower your nets. Simon and his companions had to take a chance on Jesus, had to risk that what he directed was for the best.
