Bible Text: Mark 1:14-20 and Jonah 3:1-5, 10 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
From the ages of about 9 to 17 I had the great privilege of being able to spend a week each summer at our extended family’s cottage on Lake Muskoka. It could be found just down the road from the small village of Torrence, between Bala and Gravenhurst. Unfortunately I didn’t appreciate the experience as much as I should have because I often found those long summer days boring. Ironically the one activity that seemed to break up the boredom for me was fishing off the dock, solely for catch and release purposes because the fish we caught off the dock were most often Rock Bass or Sunfish. While I have not maintained the pastime of fishing since entering adulthood, I do recall that just sitting on the dock with the line in the water was enough to entertain me for a few hours. In fact, it was the best way to pass a drizzly day because, despite the rain, the fish were always biting best on those days. I’d be lying if I said that spotting those fly fishermen on the Puntledge River, or watching the fishermen at the marina in Campbell River don’t remind me of those carefree days on summer from my youth. It might be nice to spend some time sitting on a dock, fishing.
Today we hit a very brief passage in the Gospel according to Mark about some very important fishermen. Last week we had two incredible calls by God, first to Samuel in the form of a voice calling in the night. Then as a dove coming down from heaven and a voice declaring, “This is my Son!” But today in contrast to those beautifully crafted and long passages, we have this short and stark passage recording the call to the first disciples. It simply states that Jesus was passing along the Sea of Galilee, saw some siblings and called out to them to follow him. But within these brief lines are some very interesting observations.
If we thought that the call to the disciples was short, we need not look far to find Jesus’ shortest sermon. It is all of one verse long. Just before Jesus calls the disciples Jesus proclaims, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.” Actually, this one verse points out a few important key preaching concepts. Keep to the basics, keep it short and have three points. I have to admit I tend to ignore most of those preaching rules. There’s no denying that it is a direct message. The time is at a crisis point and the kingdom of God is approaching. But this brief passage sets up the stage for the rest of the Gospel. In the next 16 chapters people would learn just how close the kingdom of God is, would repent, and would have faith, all because they encounter Jesus. The brevity of this sermon then sets the scene for the disciples and Jesus’ basic call to them.
In just five verses, from verse 16 to 20, there are four references to the disciples’ occupation. First we meet Simon and Andrew; they are casting out their net to sea-because they are fishermen. Then we have James and John who are in their boat mending their nets- because they are fishermen. While at first it seems like this call comes from Jesus on a whim, as he is passing along the sea and therefore the people most likely to be spotted along the sea are fishermen, but at a deeper glance this is not a random recruitment but a very deliberate and careful choosing of four men. Jesus’ first words to Simon and Andrew are, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Jesus is implying that their current occupation has contributed to their ability to be the kind of people Jesus is looking for. And while it seems irrelevant that James and John would be mending their nets it has a deliberate message too. They will be able to mend the bonds between people and the divine.
There are all kinds of symbols, analogies or metaphors that we could use. For example, as fishermen perhaps they have the courage to face mighty waters- to navigate unchartered waters or rough seas. Perhaps it demonstrates that they have an ability to work together in confined quarters or that even on days when there is not much to catch: they don’t lose hope that tomorrow is another day of opportunity. It certainly demonstrates that they have patience, be it while waiting for the fish to bite or in doing the tedious work of mending nets. But here is what I think, here is why Jesus calls these four fishermen: fishermen have a great, almost supernatural ability to read the conditions. They know when it’s a good time to cast and when it is a good time to reel it in. They are attentive, even sensitive to changes in the water that can mean whether the fish are biting or not. If only the church had that ability- to read the conditions in such a way or to understand that sometimes you will get nothing but a nibble and other days it will seem like your line is about to snap. The church today needs to work on our fishing skills- but that is not limited to the reeling in of people, rather it means all those other skills that fisher people have, patience, compromise, team players, and mending what is broken. I believe that Jesus called these four not at random, not even because he knew they would drop their nets and follow, but because they had the skills needed to be disciples. It is a reminder to us that we are all called based on our abilities and whole being. Sometimes those abilities are so basic that we don’t even realize what a gift it is to be able to use them. Sometimes it is the gifts that we have used in other areas of our life that will be great gifts as disciples.
What is fascinating is that the Greek verb akoloutheo, meaning to follow him, is found in reference to discipleship solely in the Gospel according to Mark. In Greek the word also has links to the word commitment. The kind of following that Jesus calls the disciples to “involves a commitment that makes all other ties secondary.” The kind of following that Jesus calls all his disciples to involves a commitment that makes all other ties secondary.
Scholar in the Gospel of Mark, Darrell Bock notes that, “It is significant that Jesus called such people from everyday life, for God involves Godself with everyday people, and that involvement then changes them. Rather than being students of the Law as rabbinical students were, the disciples were engaged with people. These men were willing to turn, believe the gospel and redirect their lives accordingly.” In this way the call to the disciples reflects Jesus’ short sermon. The disciples turn away from their lives that were, and begin this new life in Jesus. But I also believe that what they had learned in their trade became useful tools for their future.
It is important to note that when Jesus calls these fishermen to discipleship, he does not call them to be leaders. Rather he calls them first to be followers. If you attended the Acts Bible Study, you know that eventually many of these simple fishermen will end up preaching impressive sermons, but at this moment they are simply called to follow. They are to move forward in the footsteps of Jesus. They are to travel in the directions he leads them. They are to listen and learn from him. I often wonder if they had regrets about leaving their families to follow Jesus. Because over and over, especially in the Gospel of Mark, they will fail in their calling to follow. They will try to push Jesus to move and travel in certain directions, they will lapse in their commitment to Jesus, and they will struggle to understand Jesus’ teaching. But this also gives me hope. Like the disciples, Jonah wants to be a good prophet and declare words of repentance, but he wants to do it on his own terms. Yet, God gives him a second chance. Jesus will continually give the disciples opportunities to grow- even when they fail. And eventually, they are able to read the conditions and see where it is best to catch the fish. I pray that God helps us to read the conditions, have patience, mend what is broken and know when best to cast the line and when best to reel it in. When it is time to catch and when it is time to release. Amen