I love to travel, but truth be told, by
the time the day of my departure on nearly any trip rolls around, I am usually seriously questioning whether this trip or any trip is ever really worth all the trouble that it
takes to actually leave. Can my
vacation possibly live up to its promise, and actually be worth all the time, work and stress
that goes into its preparation?
After many hours of research done
to discover the best, most cost-effective
option for travel – after answering
questions like which airport we
should depart from, and which airline we should use; after searching out all available car rental discounts and options;
and, after deciding on the lodgings we
will stay in – I am usually exhausted.
Perhaps you
have felt the same way.
Then, of
course, there are all the details that need to be settled around the house - making
sure all the bases are covered; that the people and animals in our lives are cared
for; that the mail is stopped and likewise the newspaper; that the plants are
watered and someone is looking out for the house – ensuring that someone knows where
we are and how to reach us.
Finally,
after also tying up all those loose ends here at the church – after checking
each detail off the list, there are times I don’t even want to go anymore.
Suddenly, a
“staycation” looks really attractive.
I am struck, therefore,
in this gospel of Mark, by the immediate
nature of the response of these first disciples, to the call of Christ; by the immediate answer of these four fishermen
who were in the middle of their work,
who, we can assume, were in the middle of lives
in which they had connections and a
multitude of responsibilities and
ties to other people.
“Jesus said
to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” Did they even know what that
meant? “I will make you fish for people.” I doubt it.
But, just
like that, each of them – Simon, Andrew, James and John dropped what they were doing, and went to follow Jesus. Immediately. We don’t read of them
making plans or checking off “to-do” lists. They just went.
What made
these fisher-people do such a crazy, radical thing? Did they consider answering
“no”? What made them answer “yes”?
Jesus was
calling. Perhaps they had simply taken to heart things that Jesus had
proclaimed about the good news of God.
In fact, here,
at the start of Mark’s story, and already by verse 15 Mark has told us three times about this good news that is our gospel. The gospel of Mark opens,
“The beginning of the good news about
Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God….”
Then, only 13
verses later, today, we heard, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to
Galilee, proclaiming the good news of
God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near, repent,
and believe in the good news.” What
Jesus has just proclaimed is profound, and we need to spend a little time
there.
The words which
our lectionary translates here as, “the time is fulfilled” and “the kingdom of God has come near” are both, in the Greek, verbs written in the perfect
tense. English has no equivalent tense, so it is sometimes difficult for us to grasp
the full meaning and import of this passage as it is rendered in English.
The perfect
tense describes action that has happened or has been inaugurated in the past which
continues to have ongoing effect in the present. But the importance of this
tense for this text is this: God has
already acted and we live under the effect of God’s action. With the
incarnation of Jesus Christ, not only has God acted to fulfill God’s promise of
redemption, but God has brought the kingdom of God to earth. To us. Did you
hear that?
God’s kingdom
has come.
It is already
here, in Jesus, and we participate in it every single day. We are recipients of
the grace and ongoing benefit of God’s grace that has come in Christ.
Belief and trust
in this truth make a difference in
the believer’s life. Jesus proclaiming this good news brings change for all who believe. Therefore, Jesus invites those
who follow to do these things:
Believe the Good News.
Believe
that God’s promises are true.
Believe
that God is here present and that God is at work in the
world.
Believe
that the kingdom of God has broken into this
world!
And in
believing, turn from the darkness to the Epiphany light. Turn from blindness
into sight. Turn from death to life.
This good
news comes from the person who now stands on the seashore, calling, “Come,
follow me.”
Jesus, in
fact, is the gospel, is the good news of which Mark and the other evangelists write. Today’s text demonstrates what the call of
discipleship is like and what the appropriate response to it might look like.
Response
involves repentance. Repentance involves turning. Following Jesus means turning
away from our fear and our doubt, from all those things that call to us and
distract us and keep us from embracing the good news. Following Jesus involves foregoing
all the “nos” we have lined up and like to hide behind, instead journeying with
Christ. As disciples, we forego the
“No, I
can’t.”
“No,
I’m not good enough.”
“No,
I don’t know enough; I’m not smart enough.”
“No,
this is not a good time.”
“No,
I wouldn’t know where to start.”
Responding to
God’s grace is an immediate response. Yet we know that it is simply not that
easy.
Part of the
effect of this gospel good news, is that it makes clear that it is not by our
power that repentance comes about. It is by God’s abundant grace. On our own,
we are unable to repent, on our own
we are unable to believe. It is only
in and through Jesus Christ that we can do these things.
Martin Luther
said that through our Baptism we die each day to sin. In our creeds we
acknowledge that we are in bondage from sin and cannot free ourselves;
therefore, this Gospel is good news to us: It is not up to us. God is in charge.
And God has already acted, once and for all, through the incarnation of Jesus
Christ. And now God, in Christ, is calling us all to discipleship.
I’m not going
to lie to you. This is complex stuff. Even as I say these words, my head begins
to spin. But the simple truth is this:
God is
already at work in us, calling us, saying, “Come, follow me.” Jesus is already
inviting us to leave our baggage behind, leave our fanatical need for control and
embrace true repentance as a gift. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus helps us to
believe and to trust in the power of God to heal us, to forgive our unbelief
and make repentance possible!
James R Edwards (The
Gospel according to Mark) comments:
Repentance
properly understood is an "I can't" experience, rather than an
"I can" experience. If repentance is
promising God, "I can do better," then we are trying to keep
ourselves in control of our lives.
If
we can do better, we don't need a gracious
God, only a patient one, who will wait long enough for us to do better.
When
we come before God confessing, "I can't do better," then we are dying
to self. We are giving up control of our lives. We are throwing our sinful
lives on the mercy of God. We are inviting God to do what we can't do ourselves
-- namely to raise the dead -- to change and recreate us.
Mark shows us how Jesus called his first disciples, Simon
and Andrew, James and John - ordinary
people from unremarkable backgrounds, ordinary men called to be companions to
Jesus, to be witnesses to the earliest parts of Jesus’ ministry, called to
learn the ways of discipleship.
They may not
always have illustrated brilliance and understanding, in fact, as we will see
as we read through the gospel of Mark this year, they often demonstrated a lack
of understanding and willpower. And yet, it was the immediacy of their response
that teaches us something about discipleship and the nature of following Jesus.
There was no, “wait a few minutes, let me pack my bag, I have a few more
arrangements to make, loose ends to tie up.”
Discipleship
takes a lot of work. It doesn’t always go smoothly. But God is continually at
work, forgiving us when we don’t get it or when we fail, lifting us up when we
fear or when we despair that “it is just not worth it”, encouraging us when we
feel overwhelmed by our own “yes.” Jesus is calling each of us, calling each to
“come and follow.”
May God bless you as you answer your own call to discipleship.
As Jesus beckons to us, “come, follow,” may we behold God’s power to call us,
save us, use us and bless us in the name of the one who redeems us, Jesus
Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
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