"They left their nets"-A Sermon for Epiphany 3, Mark 1:14-20
So, I wonder what would have become of the disciples had today’s scene described by Mark never been set. In other words, if Jesus had not made his way that day, so long ago, meandering along the shore of the Sea of Galilee…where he came upon first Peter and Andrew and then James and John and called them to follow. To follow him, which is what the word disciple means, to follow Jesus on his great and, at times, perilous adventure to literally save the world. Now, I certainly don’t think it would have necessarily ended badly for them had Jesus not arrived that day or, even, if he had…but they chose not to follow. They may have even made a very nice career, as commercial fishermen. Fishing being one of my own chief hobbies, I have sort of romanticized this vocation for myself. Living on the water…honest, hard work set before me each day…learning to read the weather and water…enjoying sun rises…finding the deep holes the fish like to gather in…feeling the adrenaline that comes with a nice haul of fish…getting to sell my catch in a lively market with food producers all around…and all the while savoring how I will prepare and feast that evening on the very fish caught with my own two hands. Perhaps this is something of what Peter, Andrew, James and John’s lives would have been like, along with, a good home in which to live, with a seaside view and family and friends with whom to share it…had Jesus not shown up that day…or…if they had chosen a different path. Sure, there would be hard days too. Days when the fishing was unproductive, storms making the waters too dangerous to set sail upon. Whatever one does with their gifts, talents and blessings…their careers, education and experiences…life always presents all sorts of challenges…trials and tribulations. But still perhaps these followers of Jesus would have lived a content life…had Jesus not shown up that day…so long ago…meandering along the shore of the Sea of Galilee…that day they were called…or, again, had they not answered that call.
And further I wonder what it was that Jesus saw in these four people, in particular, such that, he would invite them into his innermost circle…invite them to share in, and become the leaders of, his life’s work. Perhaps he had been around them for some time…old acquaintances even…or just observed them from a distance…seen them in action…their work ethic, the way they cared for others, handled their business, loved those they shared their lives with. We don’t know of course…but whether it was through experience or observation or just divine intuition…I feel that Jesus most assuredly saw something, felt something in these four people, Peter, Andrew, James and John, and all the others, he would call along the way…the many women and men who made up his holy entourage…for there were undoubtedly more than the 12 disciples that Matthew names in his gospel. People like the three Mary’s, Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. And we also know about Nicodemus and Zacchaeus and the friend who shared his upper room for the Last Supper, and the aforementioned Lazarus and Martha…and this is surely not all named and unnamed who answered Jesus’ call to follow. And I believe that Jesus knew each and every one of them in some intimate way. He paid attention. He gazed upon the eyes of their hearts. He noticed how they lived and loved. He recognized their unique beauty and gifts…their hopes and dreams…and even their faults and foibles…and he then intentionally called out to them…invited them to follow. To follow him, to partner with him, on the great and, at times, perilous adventure, for all great adventures are at times perilous, to save the world.
And even further I wonder what it was about Jesus’ call, and really Jesus himself, that stirred their hearts so profoundly that they indeed did follow. Surely, Jesus’ invitation formed a sort of fork in the road, if you will, for each person he called to join him. One fork led down a reasonably familiar and well-worn path…that is the path they were already following. For example, for the fishermen, it was another day on the water, another haul of fish to sell at the market, and food for the family table. But, I imagine the other path, the one Jesus sets before them, was not so easily discernable. For it was like nothing they had ever done or known before. Following a man, they did not know or new little of…away from familiar places and spaces…to cities and towns and regions that were entirely new and among folk who lived very different sorts of lives than they lived. From fishing or home making or whatever familiar work made up their daily lives…to teaching and preaching and healing and listening and learning…all the way to the cross and empty tomb. From familiar friends and much-loved family…to lepers and tax collectors and prostitutes and widows and rich rulers and religious leaders. Clearly this path required a great measure of faith to take…for it was indeed a strange and perilous and risky proposition. But each of them did. There was just something about Jesus the person, his authenticity, his message, his heart…that was enough for them to take the road less traveled…to drop the nets and lives they were living and follow…to follow Jesus on his great and, at times, perilous adventure to save the world.
Which leads me all the way to us…to St. Julian’s…gathered together in this place today. For I feel like we are in sort of a Sea of Galilee like moment…perhaps just because this is the gospel lesson laid before us to take to heart today…or perhaps because we are still at the beginning of a new year…or perhaps because we are an adolescent church that has much growing and building, much good work left to do, if we are to be a part of God’s saving work in our own community…or perhaps it feels like a Sea of Galilee sort of moment just because each new day presents the gift…the opportunity…the chance…to hear Jesus call us, intimately and personally, together and as individuals, to lay down our own metaphorical nets and follow him. And, so, I wonder what we might see in Jesus that is so compelling, so consuming, so authentic, that our hearts might be profoundly stirred leading us to follow the great and, at times, perilous path he sets before us. And, I wonder what Jesus sees in us that we might be worthy of his call to follow him. And, further, I wonder what it means for both us and the world if we choose not to follow his call…his call to join him on the great and, at times, perilous adventure to save the world…for the adventure…the story indeed continues…with us.
Now this is just conjecture…but I would imagine our very presence here today suggests that Jesus has already begun to stir our hearts. That something of the love of God…the care we have received by those who make up Christ’s body, the church…the Easter promise that love is stronger than death, that love wins…has infected us in some way…taken root in our hearts, such that, we are compelled to come and participate…to offer praise and thanksgiving…for we have already discovered that God’s love-life, that is among us, provides meaning, direction, accountability, and, most of all, hope. Said simply, Jesus has already showed up in our lives and has already called us to follow him. And I would say further just for me, the very idea, that I believe by faith, that God knows me intimately and loves me completely, just bursts my heart wide open. For the life that Jesus lived…brining healing and hope to those who are suffering…living with and caring for those who are in need of some real TLC…giving his very life, all he has, for the benefit of the other…his utter rejection of violence…and his unshakable love for all without distinction…is the very sort of person I want to follow. This sort of life feels real and has substance, depth and meaning. It feels to me entirely authentic…and I want to follow in those steps…that is the path I want to take…that is the road I want to follow…however imperfectly I am able to do it. Lord let me follow…is what my heart cries out. This is what I see in Jesus…a life really worth living…that is fully alive…whether in suffering or in joy. This is the person I see when I see Jesus, and this is the path I see him laying before me...before us…and perhaps like me you find it entirely compelling, completely consuming, and utterly authentic. And, surely, this is something of what Jesus’ followers, in his own day, saw and felt in their hearts, when they chose to follow Jesus on his great and, at times, perilous adventure to save the world…why they chose to follow the unfamiliar path…the path less traveled.
And I think Jesus sees in us, all the way through us to the very heart of the matter, people created in the image and likeness of the God who is love. Of course, he sees people who are broken, imperfect, that have a history, that have their weaknesses. But more importantly, he sees people who are breathtakingly beautiful…capable of tremendous and courageous love…gifted in huge ways. He sees the potential for wounded healers all over this place…people who use their own mistakes and losses and suffering, once named, healed and overcome, to walk with others in similar situations, offering hope, as agents of God’s own healing work in their lives. He sees resources, of all sorts, to grow and build a kingdom of God oriented church that is the very spiritual heart of the community in which it has been placed. Jesus sees you for who you really are, without shame or judgement, uniquely you…who is the very person God needs…right now…for we are each called…and only when we all answer that call can we fully be the very vision of love that God has set before us. And I know this is true…because I have seen it too…in the ministry we have shared…in the ways you have cared for each other and those beyond our own walls. For all of these reasons and so many more, I believe God has chosen to call us…to follow him on his great and, at times, perilous adventure to save the world.
And lastly, I am convinced that if we choose to not except the call of God on our lives, Jesus’ own call…that we all lose, at least something…that to some degree the whole world is diminished. As John Adams said in the dark days of war with England…if we don’t hang together…we will all most assuredly hang. But perhaps more intimately, to choose not to answer Jesus’ call to follow him, is to deny who we really are…to deny our very selves. Like Peter, after denying Jesus a third time before the cock crows on the very night before the cross, we are left with only one response…to make our way into the dark alleys of this world…to weep. For I believe we are constituted at a DNA level…we are literally created to be…folk who follow the path of love…who find our meaning and purpose, the very thing we are made for, by joining Jesus on his great and, at times, perilous journey to save the world.
So, I think fishing is great, I plan to keep doing it whenever the chances arise. But, I imagine Peter, Andrew, James and John, after answering Jesus’ call, for he did show up that day meandering along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and they did say yes when he called…so, after following in his footsteps, after walking the path of love, after sharing in Jesus’ great and, at times, perilous adventure to save the world, I believe they would never ever, again, choose to go back to their nets, at least full time. Amen.