January 25, 2009

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might. You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples. Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy. - Psalm 65:5-12

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. - Mark 1:14-20

Today’s Gospel reading begins, “After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Immediately following the imprisonment of a famous, beloved prophet such as John seems an unlikely occasion for Jesus to walk on stage, calling disciples to follow him, proclaiming that this is a good time to be alive, a good time to believe that God is here with us.

It’s like saying in the midst of layoffs, 10% unemployment, store closings and economic chaos, “This is a great time to be alive, a great time to be the church, a great time to love one another with the full love of Jesus. God is with us. Come, and be a disciple of Jesus!”

It’s like saying, in the horrific echoes of war, “This is a great time to be alive, and to remember God’s desire for shalom in which each person will sit under his or her own fig tree ‘in peace and unafraid.’ Come, right now, and be a disciple of Jesus!”

It’s like saying to a man whose whole life is crumbling around him, who is trying to figure out what his future could possibly be, “This is a great time to be alive! There’s great stuff going on and God wants you to be part of it. Come, be a disciple of Jesus!” Or saying to a woman in deep grief and vulnerability, “God is with you. Come, be a disciple of Jesus.”

Last weekend, when it was eighty-five degrees here, I visited my mother in Dayton, Ohio, where the wind chill was 13 degrees below zero. An airport employee asked with incredulity, “Why did you come now? You should come in the summer!” It didn’t make sense to leave warm sunshine for temperatures that freeze the lungs with every breath.

My mother had been cooped up with health issues for two months, and my visit was her first real venture out of her apartment. On my first day in the deep freeze, we ate out for lunch and dinner, saw Marley and Me, shopped in multiple stores, dropped off canned goods at the food pantry, and ran errands. A two-hour trip extended to nine hours. Then we stayed up until 2:00 a.m. talking about life. Like today’s Gospel story, on level, it didn’t make sense, and on the deepest level, it made the greatest sense of all.

On Sunday morning, we went to church. One might call it a bus driver’s holiday since they held a congregational meeting after worship to present the budget and act on terms of call for the pastor. I thought to myself, “There is no escape!”

Dayton is an industrial city. As a child, it seemed that every father on my suburban street was connected with the auto industry, or worked at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The economy is a bit more diversified now, but the meltdown in the auto industry is devastating people’s lives. My brother-in-law’s company furloughed all employees for seven days last week, hoping to prevent actual layoffs. Times are difficult. But Sunday’s worship was filled with joy. People prayed for family members with cancer. They gave thanks for healing. They announced the deaths of parishioners. They sang joyfully.

After the benediction, in good Presbyterian fashion, it was time for the congregational meeting. The Stewardship Chairperson said they had begun their endeavor with great concern. They focused however, not on meeting a budget, but on gratitude for God’s presence with them and bounteous gifts to each person. When a committee member became anxious, the others reminded them to trust in God.

In that difficult context, the committee announced a 22% increase in pledges, a balanced budget, and a large enough surplus to give 3% increases to all staff. Later I asked the pastor what had happened, and how people were coping with the layoffs and economic turmoil. She responded, “It’s been amazing. One person after another has come to me and said, ‘Bad times are coming. The church needs to be ready to respond. I’m going to dig deeper so we can really be church when we need to be.’” Eyes glistening with joy, she said, “It’s been incredibly moving! In these hard times, the church is being what it’s called to be.” As the Gospel of Mark says, “After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, calling people to repent and proclaiming the good news that the reign of God was near.” Then Jesus called Simon and Andrew, James and John to leave their nets and follow him. Then and now, God doesn’t wait for good times to bring Jesus onto the stage of history and into our lives.

My sister attends a large, nondenominational church in Cincinnati. The church had scheduled six large performances last December, similar to those at the Crystal Cathedral. They chose the title, “A Messy Christmas.” As I listened to my sister begin her story, I filed the title away for a future Christmas Eve sermon, and thought I knew what was coming.

The story I heard was different than I expected. The cast and crew rehearsed for weeks, of course. Angels were to fly through the air and live animals walk down the aisles. But on opening night, tragedy struck. A 23-year-old young woman who was to fly up and touch the star over the Bethlehem stable, instead, fell to her death on the concrete stage in front of 3000 people. In a special performance to tell people about the hope that Jesus’ birth brings into this messy world in which we live, a cable broke, and a delightful, vibrant young woman fell headfirst to her death, instead.

The rest of the performances were cancelled. The church was packed on Sunday as people tried to make sense of what had happened. They gathered for help and comfort from God and their pastors. The pastor recounted that as her family was looking through the young woman’s apartment, they came across a check she had written to the church and a note she was planning to include with it. The note said, “I’ve only been part of this church for four months, but it is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my whole life. Thank you.”

When her parents came to the church office to meet with the pastor, they told the staff, “This is a horrible thing that has happened. But we’re all disciples of Jesus. So we’ll pull our chins off the floor, look each other in the eye, and go on with the work to which he has called us.”

My sister, who had attended the church for a couple of years but had never participated actively in the its ministry, left that Sunday’s service before it was over. She walked to the information table, and asked how to find the kindergarten class for special needs children. She entered the classroom, found the teacher and explained, “I’m a specialist in working with special needs children. How can I be helpful? I need to respond to God’s call in my life.” After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, saying that this is a great time to be alive. “Repent and believe the good news that the reign of God is near.” Then he called Simon and Andrew, James and John to leave their nets and follow him.

God doesn’t wait until our lives are neat and tidy to come to us. God doesn’t wait for the world to be at peace, the economy to buzz along, our lives to be on easy street. Certainly God does come to us at those times, calling for repentance and discipleship. Certainly God is walking beside us daily at such times and is pleased for our joy.

But I say to you, it is not a coincidence that Jesus came onto the world stage at a time when people were in despair, when a despot was in control and able to throw prophets in prison, when people were ill and needed to be healed, and when people felt weighed down by the burdens of an overly legalistic version of religion. It is precisely at times such as these that we need most to hear the good news Jesus brings: God is with us, we are not alone. In fact, maybe the reign of God comes most near to us at such times because that is when we are most likely to know how desperately we need our God. As we swirl in questions of Why me? Why now? What am I to do? What will my future be? Is anything secure?–these are times when we need the good news that Jesus is with us. Come, and follow him.

Then and now, God doesn’t wait for good times to bring Jesus onto the stage of history and into our lives. Examples are all around us:

A recent college graduate unable to find a job who is, instead, volunteering at two local non-profits who had to lay off staff recently. Church members giving more because the upcoming need will be great. Employees accepting pay cuts and furloughs so their co-workers will not be laid off. My sister offering her special training to help children learn about Jesus.

What is Jesus’ call to you? The Protestant Reformer, John Calvin, considered the calling of disciples in this passage of the Gospel of Mark to be

“a paradigm of the calling of all Christians. We, in whatever culture or century, are the same as they. According to Calvin, God called ‘rough mechanics’ like Simon, Andrew, James, and John in order to show that none of us are called by virtue of his or her own talents or excellences. Like those disciples who misunderstood and failed Jesus at every turn, we too are sinners in need of forgiveness for our multiple betrayals. Like them, we sinners, despite our failings, are slowly being transformed into followers of Christ. Like them we are called not to the enjoyment of a private salvation but to a public vocation. Like them, and like Abraham and Sarah, we are summoned by God to leave our parents’ house, abandoning self-interest, security, and social approbation. Like them, we can find our inadequate attempts at ministry transformed by grace into extensions of Jesus’ activity. Just as it did for the disciples, the command “Follow me” points to the way of the cross for us. Just as it did for the disciples, the ominous reference to the arrest of John the Baptist warns that we too are called to a life of risk, insecurity, and self abnegation” (Lee Barrett, p. 288, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, 2008.)

Just as for them as for us, becoming a faithful Christian disciple takes both a moment of decision and a lifetime of faithfulness:

“Some of our churches so stress the moment of decision for Jesus that we fail to nurture the long-standing commitment. Decision is to be lived out in fidelity, service, even sacrifice. Some of our churches are so good at nurturing that we forget that even “cradle Christians” sometimes need to decide for fidelity, service, even sacrifice. Christianity is always both for now and for the long haul; both a moment and a lifetime” (Elton W. Brown, p. 286, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Common Lectionary, 2008).

Recently our new President referenced the difficult challenges that lay before our country–as individuals and as a nation. He reminded us that in times such as these, we are called to the very best of our character, our patriotism, our integrity, our perseverance, and our commitment to the common good. It sounds a little like the Gospel of Mark: After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching that this is a good time to be alive, and that God is near. Repent, and follow me.

Jesus didn’t wait for the good times in order to come to us. He came in times such as these, and called us to follow him. Like the fishermen who left their nets, let us also respond to his call–both in small actions and large sacrifices. Let us be the church and the disciples to which God calls us. Let us answer Jesus’ call today and follow him. Amen.

Top of Page

Home Page