What distinguishes the biblical meaning of the word "peace" from the universally accepted? In our daily language we understand it rather in a common way, as the opposite of war or the lack of dissensions.

This word "shalom" is much more voluminous - it is a state of harmony and balance, order and beauty. Such is the state of the relationship inside the Trinity, such was the state of the universe in the seventh day of the Creation, such become our relationships with God in Jesus Christ, - "for He is our peace" (Eph. 2:14). And besides, we are capable of spreading these relationships on other people, because is given to us the word and the ministry of reconciliation.

In describing the events of the Savior's earthly ministry, Mark is very restrained and sparing with details. The preaching in Capernaum, the healing of a possessed man, and the healing of Peter's mother-in-law follow one after another; the scenes change as in a kaleidoscope. This flickering of events is a feature of the author's perception. It happens, and if not everyone, then many people know this experience. As a rule something similar occurs when a person inwardly distances himself from what is happening.

For example, he goes through some event that is very important for him, and its result is a special inner state that takes in the whole person and creates around him a kind of shell through which he interacts with the surrounding world. The shell may be absolutely transparent, but it almost always becomes a kind of lens that changes the person's perception of what is happening outside. Such a shell is in itself a psychological structure, but its origin can be very different, from purely physiological to spiritual. Any contact with spiritual reality changes a person's perception, at least for the duration of the contact, and sometimes for a much longer time.

Most often the change has to do with the scale and speed of events in the outer world: they seem to move farther away, the flow of time that contains them speeds up, and that very kaleidoscope effect appears. At the same time, if the psychological shell that produces this effect has a spiritual origin, if it is connected with spiritual processes in which the person is caught up, it also functions as a kind of filter, singling out in the swiftly running stream the events that are related to the spiritual process that produced the shell.

In this way, from the stream of events those are singled out that are connected with a person's spiritual state; he begins to see more clearly what corresponds to his state. A person who has experienced a revelation of the Kingdom can in this way see the stream of events both in the present and in the past, insofar as the past has been preserved in his memory. This is how the evangelist sees events: for him, after all, the meeting with Christ became a revelation of the Kingdom, and he experiences the Kingdom as the reality that changes his perception of present events and of past ones, as far as he remembers them.

Today we read in the Gospel of Mark about the calling of the disciples and their response to that calling. This is far from being about an ability for spontaneous actions: apparently, these four already knew Jesus. That is how John 1:35-51 can be understood. After all, we ourselves are not reading these lines for the first time. What is surprising here is something else: how briefly the evangelist speaks about it. Indeed, calling and conversion are only the very beginning of the way. The words and deeds of Jesus, the disciples' wavering and denial, and the joy of the Resurrection will be described in much greater detail. On the other hand, without this episode there would have been no whole Gospel. What would have happened if no one had followed Jesus?

In our time Christ's action in this world continues. And the disciples without whom nothing would have happened are, this time, us. Therefore today it is so important for us to realize once again that the Lord has called us to follow Him and to find in ourselves the courage to climb out of the boat and follow after Him.