Jesus said to them, “Follow me,
and I will make you fish for people.”
Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
—Matthew 4.19-20
Strange, how familiar the voice is.
The voice that recognizes you,
the voice that is your very voice,
that speaks your hope,
comes not from afar but from within,
asking you to let go of what is familiar
to find what is even more strangely at the center,
to quit your accustomed hiding places,
to leave the fringe for the root,
and come away from all that is away,
closer to here, closer to God.
The voice calls you,
the irresistible presence calls you, “Follow me,”
into the world yet always,
no matter how far you go,
on this foreign road, this difficult pilgrimage
toward your truest self,
always accompanied,
always
coming home.