Follow Me -- A Message for January 24, 2021

 

Mark 1:14-20

14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 

15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 

17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.

19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 

20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer for Understanding

God of new life, speak to us in the rich, ancient words of scripture.

Send us your Holy Spirit so that we will hear your call,

leave behind our old ways,

and follow Jesus Christ, your Living Word. Amen.

As Jesus began his ministry, he surrounded himself with a group of disciples…his own “Cabinet” of sorts. I am not an expert on presidential transitions, but this week, as I glanced through the news, there were stories about the members of President Biden’s new cabinet and the skills they bring as they begin to serve our country in a new way. Each member of the cabinet is carefully selected by the new president and their team because they are expected to support and enhance the work of the leader of our country.
Jesus also gathered his Disciples with care, but chose people that did not immediately seem like the types of people who would have the skills to enhance the work of the Messiah. Jesus called tax collectors, rebels, common folks, and fishermen.

What do fishermen have to do with promoting the work of God on earth? Fishermen are not typically trained as religious scholars or public speakers. Fishermen are not typically trained as counsellors or nurses. Fishermen are not typically trained as administrators or customer service representatives.
Instead, fishermen are trained to catch fish. Fishermen in the first century wove nets. And, they spent a lot of time mending those same nets. They learned to sail. They learned how to gauge the weather. They learned to steer the boat and bounce with the waves. They learned to stomach their panic when storms reared up and tossed their boats to and fro.

Fishing requires strong, able hands. 1st century fisher folk had to be strong enough to haul in heavy nets and also have the dexterity to mend those same nets when holes were ripped into them. Fisher folks had to be masters with their knives – they gripped their knives to quickly and carefully clean their fish to bring them to market.

Jesus invited the fisherfolk to follow him and he would lead them to fish for people. What did he mean? Obviously, Jesus didn’t expect his disciples to run around and trap people in nets. Discipleship is a bit less physical than fishing for fish. We don’t trap people. Instead our goal is to present the gospel in a way that draws people in…no into our nets, but draws people into a deeper relationship with the God we serve.

Jesus called hearty and hardworking people to be his disciples. He needed disciples who could successfully endure challenges, both physical and mental challenges. He needed disciples who were emotionally tough—who could endure criticism and skepticism. Jesus needed disciples who were faithful – and had the type of faith that can withstand hardship – everything is not always rosy for Christians, but we have to have a faith that we cling onto even when we are suffering.

How does this translate to 21st century disciples and followers of Jesus? Some of the trials the first disciples faced are not problems we will face. As Americans, we will probably not be jailed or executed for our faith. Most of us will not be rejected by our families for our faith. Most of us will be able to simultaneously be Christians and whatever profession we have. Most of us will not face danger because we are Christians. We should never take these freedoms for granted, though, because there are fellow Christians who live in different places and countries who are terribly at risk.

So, as 21st century American Christians, we have smooth sailing, right? Our lives are all easy-peasy?

Unfortunately not. Despite the technological advances we live with, despite the order and peace of our communities, despite the relative wealth we have compared to many people throughout the world, we live with many fears and challenges. We are having a pandemic. We are adjusting to post-Covid limitations to our freedoms to travel and pursue activities outside of our homes. We have immense pressures on our families – kids dealing with disrupted school days, adults worrying about our jobs and our health, fears for relatives and friends who have underlying health conditions that put them at risk of scary Covid complications.

So, with all of the fears that we have, how are we to behave as disciples of Jesus? How can we fish for men and women?

First, we have to trust God. The original fisherfolk disciples literally walked away from their fishing boats. Zebedee’s sons left their dad in the boat. Their faith was so strong they were willing to drop out of their lives and follow Jesus. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, instead of returning to their pre-Jesus life, they worked to share the Good News with new people. They ended up being the leaders of the Christian church as the church grew and spread across the Roman world. They migrated far, far away from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, to start churches and Christian communities. They trusted God.

We also must trust God. No matter what happens to us, God is with us. No matter how we fail, God is with us. God forgives us when we fall short. God loves us even when we have trouble loving ourselves. God shares God’s Holy Spirits with us to comfort, guide and sustain us. God is persistent; God never leaves us alone. God carries us when we can’t bear to go on. God is leading us through this time of Covid, and will guide us as we start to reassemble our post-pandemic lives.

Second, disciples share the Good News. It would be selfish if we believe we have discovered the truth in our Christian faith and we did not work to help other people have faith themselves. We have knowledge that others need to know. WE have the word of God written out in the Bible to guide and comfort us. WE have the knowledge that Jesus came to teach us all, to lead us all, to save us all. We know that because of God’s grace we can never do anything so horrible that we can’t be redeemed and forgiven. We must tell others about our faith. We must work to show others how we live faith-filled lives. We can’t keep it to ourselves, we have to let it shine out to help other people who need to know God loves them, forgives them, and wants to be in relationship with them.

Disciples are people of the commandents. Jesus summarized the Greatest Commandment is that we are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ….” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” So, we are called to be mindful of these commandments in our hearts, words and actions. We need to question if God is our priority, or if we are putting other people up too high on a pedestal. Lucia loves Taylor Swift, but her love for a singer must be less than her love for God. All week long, people who admire Bernie Sanders have been reposting his inauguration day photo on top of other pictures, but our love for Bernie must be less than our love for God. Lebron James is considered by many fans the greatest basketball player of all time, but they should love Lebron less than they love God.

We also must work to be loving towards our neighbors. All of our neighbors. People who live in our neighborhoods. People who live across town. People who vote like we do, and people who don’t. People who look like we do, and people who look every possible way a person can look. People who are our age, and people who are all other ages. People who share our values and experiences, and people who have other values and other experiences.

As disciples of Jesus, we must treat other people with love and compassion to demonstrate that we are living out the Commandments to love other people as much as we love ourselves.

Jesus calls the least likely people to be his disciples. People who are not accomplished theologians. People who are not educated and sophisticated. People who themselves never thought they would be called. People like the fishermen. People like us.

And, in order to serve Jesus, we must trust God and remember God is with us to help us through whatever we face. We must work to tell others about our faith—to share it with other people. We know it makes a difference in our lives and there are lots of hurting people who need to know they are loved and sustained by our God. And, we must work to be people of the commandments: people who love god and love other people.

May we do so in love! Amen.