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Mark 1:14-20

Leaving Nets Behind

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Mark 1:14-20

Leaving Nets Behind

By Dr. Jeffrey K. London

“Immediately they left their nets, and followed (Jesus)” (1:18).  It’s a picturesque scene.  A sandy beach, rugged fishermen, boats, nets, the smell of salt in the air.  It’s a picturesque scene we’ve had since we were children in Sunday School.  It’s a picturesque scene that maybe, just maybe, we’ve diluted and domesticated to the point where we just don’t feel it’s risk-filled impact anymore.

They left their nets behind and followed Jesus!   In the case of James and John, that meant they left their father behind and followed Jesus.  In many ways these disciples serve as the model for the rest of us disciples.  They all left things and people behind to follow Jesus.  They all made sacrifices and risked their future on this unknown untested rabbi.  They all gave up the safety and security of “home” to do this new thing.  It may still be a picturesque scene, but if I were painting it I would add shades of foreboding, dark storm clouds off in the distance.

You see, whether we like to admit it or not, living as a disciple of Jesus Christ is a risky venture.  To be a disciple, to respond positively to that call to follow, means accepting the presence of those storm clouds off in the distance.  Who knows, those clouds may be closer than you think?

What we’re getting at here is that discipleship is costly.  When those first disciples left those nets behind, they were, in effect, leaving their old lives behind, they were leaving the comforts of home behind, they were leaving the safety and security of their jobs behind.  And there is a sense in which the same is asked of us.  When we first agree to heed the call to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, we leave behind the old life and join in the new.

In fact, there is a sense in which we do that every week.  Those of us who show up here to worship week in and week out engage in a spiritual discipline, a spiritual exercise that keeps us in shape, keeps us more open to the gentle nudges and loving pushes of our Lord.  You see, what we can never forget is thatfollowing Jesus Christ inherently means we’re on the move, we’re going somewhere, we’re doing something.  The question becomes, “Where are we going and what are we doing?”

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For many people there is nothing worse than feeling inconvenienced.  You know the feeling.  It’s how you feel when your car is in the shop, or when your computer crashes, or when your smart phone can’t find a wi-fi connection, or when your air conditioner quits, or the copier machine at work dies.  You feelinconvenienced, right?  Maybe a little put out that this has happened to you — “Why do these things always seem to happen to me?” — maybe a little bit of that.  But overall, you just have that sanguine feeling of being inconvenienced.  Unfortunately, this feeling of being inconvenienced has crept into our faith lives and effected our ability to follow.  We have a hard time leaving our nets behind because we have a preconceived notion of how this all is supposed to work.  And if we can muster the guts to admit the truth, we would confess that we really don’t want the call to follow Jesus to interfere with our “regular” lives.  “We’ll get to doing some good ministry and mission when we can, but please, Lord, don’tinconvenience us, we’re busy, we’ve got lots to do.”

I remember being in school watching a documentary on John F. Kennedy.  I may have been young but his words connected with me, his words had such power to them.  I could tell he was committed to the cause he spoke of.  And that cause just happen to tweak my imagination as well — going to the moon.  Kennedy said:

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do (the) other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”1

We could easily adapt Kennedy’s language to tell the truth about discipleship:

We’re called to follow Jesus Christ and engage in acts of ministry and mission, not because they are easy but because they are hard, because the Lord we serve has given us the best energies and skills needed,           because the challenge of discipleship is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to declare inconvenient, one we intend to celebrate.

 

Now I’m not suggesting that we walk away from our jobs and families and pretend we’re those first disciples — because we’re not.  No, I don’t think that’s what the Lord has in mind for us.  But what I am suggesting is that we admit we are disciples of Jesus Christ and make that discipleship a priority in our lives.  In fact, I’d go so far as to suggest that where we feel our discipleship impinging most on our “regular” lives is a good place to start.  Perhaps moving us out of our comfort zones is Jesus’ way of pulling us along on this discipleship journey.

Think about it.  What is it about being a disciple of Jesus Christ that makes you uncomfortable?  Can you admit those nets and leave them behind?  Maybe it’s something as simple as telling your story?  You know —  what our friends in the faith call “witnessing” or giving “testimony.”  We all have a story to tell, a story about God’s love, God’s activity in our lives.

Have you ever told your story?  If not, why not?  What scares you?  Why are you uncomfortable about telling your story?  I think, a lot of times, that unless you grew up in a tradition where sharing one’s story was a commonplace, you just didn’t do it.  But sharing your story is foundational to being a disciple of Jesus Christ, and it’s something that I guarantee you’ll enjoy after a time or two.  After all, who doesn’t like talking about themselves?

But I’ve got one more challenge I’d like to put before us as individuals and as congregation.  Above and beyond the ability of sharing our faith stories, I would challenge us to discern: What are the hard things we’re being called to do?  What’s our moon shot?

And if we might dare to revise John F. Kennedy’s words again, we might say, “Ask not what the Church of Jesus Christ can do for you, but what can you do for the Church of Jesus Christ?”2

The challenge would be for us to deepen our commitment to ministry and mission OUTSIDE these walls, out there where it’s far more risky and where we’ll undoubtedly feel uncomfortable at times.  Our Outreach Ministry Team is looking into the possibility of sending a team from John Knox to Malawi this fall. I’d like to be a part of that team and I have no problem in admitting to you that it makes me nervous — Malawi, Africa is way out of my comfort zone.  But that’s just one example of the call to leave the nets of a safe, controlled, comfortable life behind and head into the adventure of discipleship.

Friends, the kingdom of God has come near!  We bring our repentant lives to the service of God, to the proclamation of the Good News!3  And so we ask: What nets is the Lord calling YOU to leave behind?  What hard things are on your horizon, our horizon?

It’s time for our discipleship to mature.  What are going to do?  Who are we becoming?

Amen.

            1John F. Kennedy, Rice University, September 12, 1962.

            2John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible.

Copyright 2012, Jeffrey K. London.  Used by permission.