Our gospel tells us that as Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishers. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
When he had gone a little farther, he saw James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
Mark’s story is not very elaborate. There is not much in the story that seems terribly upsetting. But if we read the story further, there is a certain note of adventure as the four men leave their fishing business to go with Jesus.
At this point in time, it is very difficult to discern anything special about these men that Jesus called, except their willingness to serve.
Chris Fabry said it well: “If it were me, I would not have been down by the water looking for followers. The social elite don’t make their living by fishing. You find common people at the shore. If it were me looking for disciples, I would have first chosen a terrific singer who could bring in the crowds. Then I would have looked for someone with a reputation in the political establishment. As a matter of fact, I probably would have hired an agent, and made an infomercial to get things started.”
Jesus did the exact opposite. He chose two fishers. He even did it in an ordinary way. If I were the one, I would have made a great motivational speech with power point. I would have identified their felt needs. But Jesus simply said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
If you look at the men Jesus had chosen, it would seem they did not have the qualifications to start an organization. They were not scholars. As far as we know, they were not leaders in their community.
However, there was one thing they did when Jesus called them: they dropped everything, and followed him. He spoke and they listened. He commanded and they obeyed.
From fishermen, they became fishers of men; from persons who fed people physically, to people who fed others spiritually. They left an occupation to respond to a calling. Instead of luring fish into their nets, they lured people to join in their cause. In place of the comfortable, settled life, they were challenged to the uncertainties of campaigning for the Messianic Age. They responded to the call to the high seas of adventure, and later, boldly announcing they were out to change the world.
And because they responded to the call, they were changed. Peter, from an impetuous person, became the rock. Thomas, who at first doubted, became one who went around sharing the gospel.
A person has to respond first to the call and then be changed into a new person. Thus, we do not have to be somebody to respond to the call of Jesus. The moment we respond, Christ can turn us into someone special.
I think we are better educated. I think some of us are more sophisticated. We live in nicer homes. Some have better paying jobs, and drive nice cars.
However, there are some of us who are not sure we really want to commit ourselves fully. We are like millions of other people who have lived on this earth over the past 2,000 years: we want to stay on the good side of God, but we want to do it from a distance.
We stay in our boats, and give lip service, and leave it to someone else to leave their nets and follow Jesus. When Jesus comes too close to us in our occupations, we tend to cling tighter and tighter to the boats and nets, rather than take the risk of leaving them.
In some surveys, most churches have only about 20 percent of the congregation really involved in the life of the church. Another 20 percent are relatively faithful in worship, but cannot truly be counted on for anything else. Another 20 percent are sporadic attendees. And then there are about 40 percent who use the church when they need to be baptized, married, and finally, buried.
So the fact that these first disciples were willing to not only say “yes” to the Master, but also to leave their nets, and follow him is no little matter. As they say, “Showing up is half the battle.”
And when Jesus called his first disciples Simon, Andrew, James, and John, he didn’t call them to a life of thoughtful contemplation, days of mystic musing, or holy habitations. Jesus called them into action.
They are to incarnate Christ in a broken, battered world. When Jesus promised to make his first disciples “fishers of people” it was a mission that came with long days of hard work, and the possibility of empty nets.
As disciples, they were called to service, to sacrifice, to being the last, the least, the lowliest. What Jesus is saying is that the gospel that we bring upsets and disturbs individuals and nations alike. It brings change and new experiences to all who hear it.
I know of a pastor who one Sunday invited the mayor of the city to church. The mayor was presented with the church’s gift to the city: 100,000 volunteer hours of community service which the mayor can deploy in any way he needed.
In other words, here was a community of God’s people that has said to its city: we are burdened by the needs of our city, and we commit to our city’s betterment and beauty: 100,000 hours of our blood, sweat, and tears. If you need us to clean up litter on the roadways, we’ll do it. If you need us to mentor kids, we’ll do it. But we are committed to making our city better and more beautiful.
Being a disciple is not easy, but we are called to ministry.
It’s hard to get excited about a job. It’s almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry.
If God calls you to a ministry, for heaven’s sake (literally) don’t treat it like a job. If you have a job in the church, give it up, and find a ministry! God doesn’t want us feeling stuck in a job, but excited, fulfilled, and faithful in a specific ministry.
May God bless and empower us as disciples of Jesus Christ, called to be in the ministry of this church and community.
