Epiphany III B 2009
Theme: Landing the big one – you
Let us pray.
Most holy, Lord God, your son called people to help him in his earthly ministry; always remind us that we are heirs of the first disciples, aiding Jesus in his work of transforming the world, through the power of the Holy Spirit; we are strengthened by your Spirit and by your son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom we pray. Amen.
I have three fishing stories for you today.
1. An old-timer sat on the river bank, obviously awaiting a nibble, though the fishing season had not officially opened. A uniformed officer stood behind him quietly for several minutes. “You the game warden?” the old-timer inquired.
“Yup.” Unruffled, the old man began to move the fishing pole from side to side. Finally, he lifted the line out of the water. Pointing to a minnow wriggling on the end of the line, he said, “Just teaching him how to swim.”
2. Mark Twain once spent a pleasant three weeks in the Maine woods. On his way home making himself comfortable in the train to New York, a sour-faced man sat down next to him and the two struck up a conversation. “Been to the woods, have ye?” asked the stranger.
“I have indeed,” replied Twain. “And let me tell you something. It may be closed season for fishing up here in Maine, but I have a couple of hundred pounds of the finest rock bass you ever saw iced down in the baggage car. By the way, who are you, sir?”
“I’m the state game warden. Who are you?”
Said Twain, “Pleased to meet you. Who am I? Only the biggest liar in these United States.”
3. Two ardent fishermen met on their vacation and began swapping stories about the different places they had fished, the kind of tackle used, the best bait, and finally about some of the fish they had caught. One of them told of a vicious battle he once had with a 300-pound salmon. The other man listened attentively. He frankly admitted he had never caught anything quite that big.
However, he told about the time his hook snagged a lantern from the depths of a lake. The lantern carried a tag proving it was lost back in 1912. But the strangest thing of all was the fact that it was a waterproof lantern and the light was still lit.
For a long time the first man said nothing. Then he took one long deep breath. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” he said slowly. “I’ll take 200 pounds off my fish, if you’ll put out the light in your lantern.”
Fish stories. Gotta love ‘em.
This brings us to another fishing story. It wasn’t until John the Baptist was arrested that Jesus began his ministry. No one is sure why Jesus waited. John’s fate is a foreshadowing of what awaits Jesus. Their message is not well received by those in power. Mark does tell us what Jesus did previous to this beginning was his time of temptation in the wilderness. Jesus is now ready. The time for God to take control of the world has come. The kingdom of God has come near.
Jesus’ agenda is a different agenda from the political authority in the world. It is different from the agenda of the one who arrested John the Baptist. We now we see the kingdom of God when we see human beings embracing God’s rule through repentance and faith.
It seems whatever momentum that John had started, Jesus wanted that momentum to continue. Jesus began by proclaiming the same words that John did, calling for repentance of sins. Presumably Jesus did not baptize people. If so, Mark would have probably mentioned it. How long this phase of Jesus’ ministry continued, Mark does not say.
Jesus then feels he needs help. Jesus cannot do what he wants to do by himself. If Jesus can’t perform his ministry by himself, then none of us can. No one can do the work of ministry in isolation. No one can do the work of ministry without help. No one can do the work of ministry alone. In fact, it takes every Christian in the world acting in concert to do the ministry Jesus would have us do. Our organization to do this is called the church. The church is lead by the Holy Spirit.
The type of person Jesus needs, initially, is fishermen. Simon, Andrew, James, and John, Mark tells us, did not tell Jesus what they would think about his proposal. They did not say they have to talk to their families first. They did not ask who would take care of their fishing business while they were gone. They did not ask how they were going to eat or where they would stay. Instead, they immediately left what they were doing and followed Jesus. For James and John, they also left their father in the lurch. We are not told if their father approved or disapproved. Repenting, believing, following, and fishing are not just done during a season that someone says that’s the time we do this. There is no season for ministry. It is for all time, for all people.
The story of the disciples shows what fisher’s lives look like. They listen to Jesus’ teachings. They witness Jesus’ miracles. Jesus gives them the slip and they look frantically for Jesus. They know that their lives unfold in the shadow of the arrest and execution of John the Baptist. And we’re just getting started.
We do not repent in order to usher in the time of redemption, but because that time is already at hand. We don’t fish to fill up a quota that will summon God’s reign, but because that time has already come. We do not follow Jesus with the hope that we may one day find him, but because he has already come and has called us. The kingdom of God is not a product of discipleship, but the precondition of it.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John give us an example of what a response of repentance and faith look like. Jesus called these four men into a new way of being. These four, and the others who later joined them, did not sign on to passively watch Jesus “do his thing.” Jesus picked them to work. They joined Jesus in proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God.
For many, if not most of them, they, too, will find a similar fate as Jesus and John the Baptist. But we know that death’s victory is only a temporary one.
Mark tends to cut out anything that is extraneous. Mark gets to the point. Jesus says, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” There’s probably wisdom in that. If we wait until we are ready – till we’ve made all the appropriate arrangements and said all the necessary farewells – we’d probably never go. As someone said, “Life is what happens while you are making other plans.”
The call will come when we are not ready. The call will come when it’s inconvenient. Like Jonah, the call will come to do something we know perfectly well is ill-considered and futile. But the call will come nonetheless.
We now pray: Gracious God and giver of all good gifts, we thank you for the gifts of ministry that you give to all of us; we know these gifts are different and varied, but they all reflect your love and they reflect the ministry of your son; strengthened by the Holy Spirit may we always exercise our gifts to the glory of your name, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Text: Mark 1:14-20 (NRSV)
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good newsi of God,j 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;k repent, and believe in the good news.”l
16 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. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
[1]
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i Or gospel
j Other ancient authorities read of the kingdom
k Or is at hand
l Or gospel
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.