Third Sunday after Epiphany – January 21, 2024

Mark 1:14-20

There are no new baby boomers being born right now.

  • Family…religion…tradition…roots…heritage are not the primary motivators for church as they were in the previous century.
  • People move around…change jobs…change careers…keep their options open.
  • Very few hang around long enough in one job to receive a gold watch at retirement.
  • In fact…there is very little loyalty to a job or a company any longer.
  • Loyalty is to oneself…and ones resume.

There is a fluidity about life…relationships…careers…and skills…that keep people moving.

  • And this has serious implications for what church will be and how it will operate in the years to come.

 

Our culture is no longer full of multi-generational families living in one house or one neighborhood.

  • Nor is it characterized any longer by family businesses handed down from generation to generation.
  • There may be a few…but it’s not like it used to be.
  • It is no longer a foreordained conclusion that the oldest child will join his or her parents in the family business.
  • And we don’t expect our own children to follow in our footsteps.

 

This was not true in first century Galilee where families did stay in one location and make the family business their livelihood.

  • Camping on the Ionian Sea in the Greek Peloponnese…many years ago…
  • There was a fishing village next to our campground.
  • And every night Susan and I would walk over and eat super with the village…a large extended family.
  • They cooked their day’s catch outside on open grills.
  • We ate and were filled…and it was good!
  • It was a close-knit extended family.
  • This family and village had been there for centuries.

 

Who knows how many generations the Zebedee family were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee.

  • Chances are it is what they had been doing for centuries.
  • They knew the Sea of Galilee like they knew the back of their hands.
  • They knew where the best fishing spots were.
  • The best time of day to make a great catch.
  • It was hard work…but it was a good secure life.
  • It enabled them to provide basic needs for their families and to enjoy their community.
  • A place where they knew and were known by everyone.
  • They had their routines.
  • They were settled into a predictable life.

 

And then one day all that changed.

  • As they were going about their usual tasks…a stranger appeared and said:
  • “Follow me…and I will make you fish for people.”
  • There was someone in the family who said: “Have you lost your mind?
  • You cannot leave your family and friends and this fishing business that has been here for generations.”

 

Mark says of Peter and Andrew: “And immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

  • And on down the road when they encounter James and John…the same thing happened:
  • “They left their father Zebedee in the boat and the hired men…and followed him.”
  • Only when you think about the sort of life Peter…Andrew…James and John had enjoyed…
  • And the totally unknown future Jesus was inviting them into…
  • Do you understand just how earth shattering this story is.
  • Leaving everything you have known…all your security…your family…and following Jesus.

 

Think about Abram and Sarai (Abraham & Sarah) …the first to be called by God.

  • They left their family and home to set out on a journey with a destination known only to God.
  • “Leave your country and your father’s house” …God said… “and go to the land I will show you.”
  • And they did…like Peter and those first disciples later.
  • None of them had it all figured out before setting foot outside the city limits.
  • None of them knew what lay ahead…what might happen…where they were going…or what they would do when they got there.
  • But they heard the call to follow…to go…and it was enough.

 

That is what faith is…taking the first step without having to know how it all turns out.

  • And we do it all the time…really.
  • We take wedding vows not knowing where the relationship will take us.
  • We bring children into the world…with no idea of who they will be or how they will change our lives.
  • In most of the events of our lives we move in faith because we can never know the outcome or control the future.

 

“Follow me” is an invitation into a relationship that is both engaging and costly.

  • It is an invitation to a journey…not just a conversation.
  • It is about doing things as well as about believing things.
  • It was not enough for Jesus to say to his disciples: “Let me tell you about the way.”
  • He had to say: “I am the way…follow me.”
  • And so…without knowing all the answers…Peter…Andrew…James and John got out of their boats…left their nets behind…and walked down the road with Jesus.

 

Well…Just like Abraham and Peter…Andrew…James and John…we have all been there.

  • For some reason…we have been asked or motivated to relocate.
  • Sometimes it is because of illness…or a loved one…or retirement…but most often it is a job…a career…a vocation.
  • And we leave some nets behind.
  • I mean…we leave stuff behind.
  • We have garage sales and take many trips to our local thrift store.
  • I mean…it is a tour de force.
  • And then the hard and difficult part: leaving friends and neighbors and family members…those we love.
  • I mean…do you dislike moving as much as I do?
  • The anxiety…the fear…the not knowing…the new book of life.
  • All of the: “where will I…buy groceries…get my car fixed…my hair done…my primary care physician…my dentist…my school…my church…my hardware store.
  • How will I ever meet new friends.

 

And then…we arrive in our new place.

  • And discover that God is already there when we get there.
  • Having sent angels to help us with all our many questions and doubts and fears and concerns.
  • During our lunch together following worship…I invite you to share stories about leaving nets behind.
  • And tell about those angels on the other end of your journey.
  • And how God was there for you.

 

Often…we will have no idea where we are going…we will not be able see the road ahead or be certain where it will end.

  • Because we never really know ourselves completely…we may not be sure that we are following God’s will.
  • However…if it is our desire in all we do to please God…to follow Jesus…
  • Then God will lead us by the right road.
  • And we can trust that even in the most difficult of times…God will be with us…
  • Will never leave us alone…and we need not fear…only trust.
  • And there will be those who think we have lost our minds! And that’s OK.
  • Because that will mean we have made room for the mind of God.