January 25, 2009

Over the years, there has been a great deal of curiosity about the disciples who dropped everything to follow Jesus. We wonder why they did something so drastic, changing their lives so dramatically just because his man Jesus showed up and asked them to change their lives. After all, there was no stirring sermon, or dramatic miracle, or better yet, the sky opening up and a voice announcing that this person standing in front of you is God's own beloved, challenging them listen. If there were such occurrences, we would have some clear explanation for those men abandoning everything to follow Jesus.

Our gospel does not give us much information, which is fairly typical for Mark's gospel. As we will see through the course of this liturgical year, the writer of Mark's gospel is not interested in filling in too many details. Jesus is on the move, running through a whirlwind ministry. There is a strong sense of urgency as everything is done immediately.

So in the midst of this lack of detail in our story, we are left to wonder if there was something compelling about Jesus that drew people to him and if the timing was just right to put the events into motion. If I were preaching this sermon five or six years ago, there would be a different sense about whether one person could gather large groups of people in a common mission. But now we know from recent events that it is possible. Look at what happened in our politics over the last couple of years. A man who was relatively unknown spoke at the Democratic National convention, and suddenly he was considered the one to watch on the political scene. He was able to gather enough momentum to announce his candidacy for President. And then put a political machine into motion from the grassroots the make a good campaign. He got people involved in their government who never thought of getting involved before and he got people out to the polls in record numbers. And as we all know, this man, Barak Obama became our 44th President, gathering almost 2 million people on the national mall and billions across the nation in local events or in front of their television. And all those people stood on the mall shoulder to shoulder, crying and shouting Obabma's name, without any incident. Now Obama is not Jesus but there is something about him that gives people hope.

And we cannot deny that the time was also right for Obama to be elected. After eight years of greed, unemployment, deregulation, and various other trouble, people were ready for something new. We all wanted to hear something other than the same old excuses, the same old rhetoric playing on our fears. The talk of change was heard with hopeful ears.

So was the time all that different when Jesus arrived one the scene? I get the feeling that those disciples were probably experiencing similar worries; similar doubts about their future, and Jesus offered them a way out, a way out of despair into hope. They were also given a way out of worrying about their fishing into participating in a way of life that focused upon something bigger. So they left their nets and followed Jesus. Now those of us here may not be fishermen by trade, but we may still wonder if it would could do what the fishermen did, if we could "manage" it. We may visualize ourselves in that boat, or on that shore, doing our everyday work, casting our nets and minding our own business, fulfilling our commitments and dealing with the reality of having to work just to survive and wonder if we could just stop and follow Jesus.

For many of us, the answer would probably be no, and that would be ok since we are not all called to drop everything we are doing and become missionaries. But we are all called by God; called into a relationship with God through the words of scripture, through receiving the meal at the table and through our community. And we all experience this call in a variety of ways. Some have a dramatic conversion where something happens in the life suddenly and they decide to follow Jesus and his teachings. Some are invited to church by a friend and they grow into faith through their experience of community. Others come just because they are curious and what is being said resonates with them, so they stay. And then there may be some of you who would say; "wait a minute, I never felt a call, I was raised in the church and have always been there". But even you have a call because you made a choice at some point to stay. And this mix of all of you, young and old, new members and those who have been here a long time, make up our community of faith. We are called into faith by God.

And ultimately, this says more about God than it says about us. Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us that it is within the power of God "to walk right up to a quartet of fishermen and work a miracle, creating faith where there was no faith, creating disciples where there were none just a moment before." This may make some uncomfortable in a society that place choice in high esteem, and among those who feel they can take care of themselves just fine. In fact, many still feel that they have to exert that choice in being good in order to please God, in order to be saved. But that thinking merely leads us down the path of earning our salvation, and it just does not work that way. In fact, we are often saved in spite of ourselves. Do not forget that we believe in God who in infinitely merciful. God is the one who seeks out the lost and shows them a path home. God shines the light for those in darkness, helping them find a way back to hope. And sometimes when we are thinking about any but our faith, God acts. It is all pure grace because God has a desire for all people, those of us here today, and those who have not yet found their way, to be in relationship. God wants all the children to be marked with the cross of forgiveness, grace and peace. And will not stop until it is accomplished.

So we can take comfort that we were called into this life of faith, even if it leads us to places we did not expect to go. For our true identity is a child of God, lived out in co-creation with the one who called us, provides us with grace, and sanctifies us with eternal life.