“Seeking and Gathering”
3 Epiphany B –
Mark 1: 14-20
Brothers and sisters in Christ, Grace and Peace to you from our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Have you ever wondered: Why did Jesus call disciples? What was the point? It certainly seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to – especially if you are God. Look at the gospel stories: what did the disciples do to further Jesus’ ministry? Jesus did all the heavy-lifting: the preaching, the teaching, the miracles, even the suffering and the dying.
What did the disciples bring to the party? Misunderstanding exactly who Jesus was and why he was there. Pride. Faith that is strong one moment and weak the next. Betrayal. Thick-headedness. Big-talk, no-walk. Disobedience. Not exactly a list to be proud of.
Sure the disciples stuck with Jesus. But even so, episodes like Peter’s confession of Jesus as Lord, that moment when he really does seem to be understand who Jesus is and what he is about, are followed only too soon with words or actions that show only too well he hasn’t got a clue.
The disciples remind me of a little guy trying to carry a huge streamer trunk. He is staggering under the weight. A concerned bystander asks him, “Can I help you? Are you sure you can carry that thing?” The little guy is straining mightily to bear up under his load but he manages to reply, “I got ‘it! I got ‘it!” and then as the trunk slips from his grasp and tumbles to the ground he moans, “I ain’t got ‘em.” That’s the picture of discipleship in Mark’s gospels. Not a pretty picture, either.
Which brings back my original question? With followers like that, who needs disciples? Especially if you listen to verses 14 and 15 in today’s gospel you really have to wonder: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to
In other words, Jesus is proclaiming not only the good news of God, but saying that HE is the good news. The words of the prophets are fulfilled in Jesus. And in Jesus the
And yet, seeking-out and gathering-in disciples is the first act of Jesus’ ministry. As the first illustration of what Jesus means when he says the
First, the disciples are necessary because of baptism. Mark’s gospel begins with John the baptist and the baptism of Jesus. Through baptism of Jesus offers not only the gift of the Holy Spirit but the promise of forgiveness and eternal life.
Which is exactly who Jesus says he is: the one in whom the grace of God is given to people – as Word, as baptism, and eventually as meal. While Jesus is alive, his ministry and life is the focus. But after his death and resurrection, others will be called to proclaim the word and administer the sacraments, to carry on the mission, and to be his body, the Church.
Second, Jesus needs disciples because he is fully God, so his very being calls him to be in relationship to his Father in heaven, and to the Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the Father and the Son. Nor is he a solitary God standing above and separate from his creatures. He is a God in relationship to his creation and those he calls to be his children. Jesus does not will to be alone on earth, or in heaven. So he immediately calls disciples as he begins his earthly ministry.
Third, you need disciples! Yes, you. You need them to be Christ for you, to help you discern your call to discipleship. Jesus’ calling of disciples matters to YOU. Today, as 2,000 years ago Jesus call disciples not by size or skill or skin color or any quality or qualification. He calls them based on their personal identity as unique individuals. Simon. Andrew. James. John. He calls them not in some fancy synagogue or church or in an elaborate ceremony or ritual. Nothing mysterious or other-worldly. In fact Jesus calls at work, in the midst of earning a living and feeding their families.
Imagine if you were at your desk at the office talking to a customer or client on the phone and a stranger walks in says, “Follow me and I will make you call for people in my name.” Or you are in the locker room at school suiting up for the game and one of the refs strolls in and says, “Follow me and I will teach you to win souls.”
The point is that Christ calls us where we are, often when we are doing the things we love most, the things that already bring us joy or satisfaction. People think being called to discipleship is being made to something you don’t like. It’s heavy, demanding work doing things we’re not used to doing in place far from home and family.
The gospel today tells us otherwise. Jesus promise to make the fishermen fishers for people means he is calling them to use the gifts they already have, in the midst of the work they are already doing. And the work Jesus calls them to do is rooted in the work they have known and loved. In Simon and Andrew he calls men who know how to cast nets in the right place and bring the catch in. In James and John he calls men who know how to keep the nets in repair so they are ready for use.
Jesus call has dramatically changed the object of their seeking and gathering and mending from fish . . . to people. But even so they are called, during the years of Jesus ministry, to watch and listen and witness what Jesus does and who he is. In obeying the call, they said “Yes” to be prepared and transformed through an intense personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Simon, Andrew, James and John became fishers of people after three years of stumbling and bumbling, watching and listening to Jesus. Seeing his mighty works. Hearing his life-giving words. And only after they thought everything was lost, that dark Friday on Calvary did they receive the great Easter surprise of resurrection and that set them free to be the new fishers of people.
But the effect of Jesus calling of the disciples was not just a life-changing personal event. It was a public ministry. It changed the lives of people around the disciples, it changed the course of human history. And it will change your life – if you let it.
Have you heard Jesus’ call to discipleship? Maybe you’ve heard it but brushed it off as the effect of too many anchovies from last night’s pizza. If you haven’t heard it, I ask you: are you open to hearing it today? Can you believe that the same words that brought Simon and Andrew in off the boat are spoken to you? It doesn’t always mean dropping your nets and changing careers, you know. It can mean staying in the same job, same house, same community. But when you live as a disciple the way you live in that job, house and community will be transformed. The meaning, the depth, the sense of connection that is missing in your life will begin to take shape. There will be surprise, there will be tension, there will be joy. And you will find yourself touching and changing the world around you.
Well, if you want to experience personal and social transformation, have I got a program for you. You can do it in your own home. In your spare time. No tapes. No videos. No special meal supplements or vitamins. No need to buy spandex gym outfits with “Follow Me” stenciled on the back. Forget the Faith-R-Ciszer 5000 (for the complete Spiritual Workout).
Here’s all you need: write out on a piece of paper words from Jesus: Follow me and I will make you ____________. Then take a bible. Mark 1:14-20 other call stories Samuel we heard this month, Moses, Jeremiah; whichever one you use: read it, live with it, keep it with you through the day; before you go to bed and when you get up. And after each reading, listen. Let your mind quiet down and listen: For a word, a picture, a memory or an emotion that through which you hear the call.
As that text begins to sink into your pores and your soul, you’ll find that it’s easier to hear God call you people and events at work and school. Keep that quote from Jesus with the blank handy. Follow me and I will make you ____________ . You will know when it’s time to fill in the blank.
= = =