|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Jonah 3:1-5, 10 |
Psalm 62:6-14 |
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 |
Mark 1:14-20 |
The Gospel writers carefully parse down Jesus’ call of the first disciples to just the essentials. Jesus calls Simon and Andrew right in the middle of the hardest work, and immediately they leave their nets and follow. Jesus calls James and John just as they are mending the nets and washing down the boat. They leave, too, leaving their father and the hired crew to finish.
Whenever I read this story, I always picture a certain sunny fall weekend afternoon when my children and I are raking leaves. Suddenly one of their friends rides up on a bike and shouts, “there’s a touch football game forming up the street. Everyone is there, come and join us.” Before I can say anything, my children drop their rakes, say sorry, gotta go Dad, and off they run after their friend, leaving me behind with three rakes, two empty baskets, a full cart, and a half acre of unraked lawn covered with leaves an inch thick. Yes, I know how Papa Zebedee must have felt.
Yet in the middle of winter, I can see it also from my children’s point of view. Sunny, balmy fall days can be fleeting. Neighborhood touch football season in Ithaca closes down after the first snowfall. All the other children are ready and they likely will be off doing other things next weekend. Who knows when they will be able to get together again? After all, as children most of the decisions of their lives are in the hands of adults. They don’t control the schedule of their time. This was an opportunity and from the point of view of my children, it was now or never. There was some hidden wisdom in their choice. Their parents would never have gotten together to plan and schedule a touch football game for them. Neighborhood pick up games are precious and often become wonderful memories of childhood, but they always depend on an immediate, spontaneous response.
Much later in his earthly ministry, Jesus would warn, when the Son of Man is clearly revealed it will be as in Noah’s day, when all but Noah were unprepared and ridiculed the ark, and the rain came and did not stop. The moment of truth will be so sudden and utterly defining, that anyone on the housetop with his possessions in the house must not come down and collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either. Like Lot’s wife, it will be critical to go forward, and not hesitate or procrastinate. (Cf. Luke 17:26-37).
The call and formation of Jesus' disciples appears to flow so quickly and decisively. Yet the Gospel writers never wanted to convey the sense that Jesus comes when we are ready and that the good news itself inevitably brings things into focus for us. Rather, the Gospels are pregnant with urgency. Whenever the gifts of God are offered, is the opportunity to respond. Jesus doesn't wait to enter into some sort of artificial or controlled environment when everything is perfect and in order. In the middle of mending nets, with hands covered with slime, after a tiring day before one could even take a hot bath, much less have a cold soda, Peter, Andrew, James, and John heard themselves called away. It is metaphoric language to be sure, but it conveys profound truth.
For that's how Jesus inevitably calls us - not when our lives are all in order, not necessarily when we see our future is bright and clear, but at the appropriate time, God’s time, nonetheless. Among our drudgery, worry, and petty concerns, Jesus' call finds its way to us. Sometimes, it is years later, as we recall a moment we have stored away in our minds, that we really recognize that it indeed was the right time, and thankfully, even though we had doubts and reservations, we said yes. God accepts even a faint yes, and often makes it a big deal. God keeps nudging us to go foward, even when we in denial or are recalcitrant.
. Don’t think it is any different today than for those fishermen of Galilee. . Faith is never about us finding God at the right time, when we have gotten everything ready and are all cleaned up. It’s about being open, aware and responding when God’s spirit calls. It may happen here in these walls, but it is just as likely to happen at work, raking leaves, struggling under a deadline to complete a paper, walking the dog, or even at one of our worst moments when we certainly don’t need one more interruption. .
The call of God is not about perfection, it is about response. Jesus doesn’t call disciples to be flawless, but to be faithful. God doesn’t ask us to be ideal in another world, but to be real in this one.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
