Christ Episcopal Church
January 25, 2015
3 Epiphany B
This time last year at Christ Church, we were busy preparing for my sabbatical. All of the literature about church sabbaticals indicates the importance of good preparation so that everyone knows who has which responsibility, who to call in case of which emergency, and everyone has the opportunity to step forward and help. So, we did that. The vestry hosted conversations to talk about our hopes and concerns for the time I was away. The vestry and then the parish had the opportunity to meet John Johanssen, the priest who would be our interim rector while I was away. And the vestry still laughs about the epic grid of ministry opportunities that was posted in the East Entrance. And, to my knowledge, life ran pretty smoothly while I was away. The weather was completely out of our control, but God was worshiped, people were cared for, and ministry happened thanks in large part to the careful planning of the vestry and a great ministry grid!
Jesus has other ideas about the way good ministry happens this morning. If Jesus did any pre-planning about the call of the disciples, the gospel certainly does not share those details. This morning, Jesus is passing along the sea of Galilee when he sees Simon and Andrew fishing. Jesus says to them "Follow me" and immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus. Just like that. Then Jesus sees James and John in their boats mending nets and he calls them. The two brothers leave their father sitting in the boat with the hired men and follow Jesus. They just pick up and leave, on impulse. These people are not merely going for coffee with Jesus, then returning to their work. These first four disciples are abandoning all that they know on a moment's notice and following Jesus. Right now and forever.
To someone who would prefer to think that any challenge can be organized into a nice grid with plenty of columns and rows for necessary details, the idea that disciples of Jesus just pick up and go is rather unsettling. How did the disciples know Jesus was someone they should follow? In some ways this story smacks of blind obedience. Did the disciples bother to write letters home to let their families know where they had gone? We know that Simon, who would be renamed Peter, was married because he had a mother-in-law who Jesus heals later in the story. So, he likely had children, too. Who was going to care for them in his absence? And what about a change of clothes and a toothbrush? And how does Jesus know that these fishermen are capable of doing the work of discipleship? But Jesus is unconcerned about any of these details. The only qualification for following Jesus, according to this story, is simply and literally following Jesus. While Mark's gospel continues to portray the disciples as never quite understanding who Jesus is, after the resurrection these same people will go on to lead the emerging church with great success. So Jesus's seemingly impulsive method of calling disciples apparently worked.
Our story from Jonah this morning begins with the words "The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." This time, the word of the Lord tells Jonah to get up and go to Nineveh and proclaim the message God will give him. This time, Jonah does get and go to Nineveh and proclaims "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown." At least the message Jesus proclaimed was a bit more positive "The Kingdom of God has arrived. Repent and believe the good news." The message Jonah has to deliver is not good news at all.
From this story, we might think Jonah is also simply obedient, doing whatever God asks without much thought or planning. But the passage doesn't tell us what happened the first time the word of the Lord came to Jonah. The first time the Lord asked, or told, Jonah to go to Nineveh, he fled in the opposite direction, wound up in the belly of a whale, got spit up on land, and had abundant time to reconsider his decision to flee from God's call. While Scripture certainly does not portray fleeing as a faithful response to God's call, Scripture does portray God as persistent in this story as well as other stories. And once Jonah does enter Nineveh, proclaiming the quite fearsome message that in 40 days the city will exist no more, the people respond. A fast is called that involves all the people and all the animals, and they all, human and animal, put on sackcloth and repent. Because the people and animals repent, God changes God's mind and does not destroy the city. Despite Jonah's initial flight from God's call, God uses Jonah to deliver the people of Nineveh.
So, what is the faithful way to follow Jesus? To have a well organized plan for ministry? Or to simply drop everything and follow? What if our initial impulse is to flee in the other direction? I think the evidence of both scripture and our own stories is that God will use us, perhaps despite our organizational grids, or our impulsive decisions, or even if we flee first. Sometimes we flee because we actually understand the magnitude of what is being asked of us. What we all have in common is the willingness, whether reluctant, impulsive, or well organized willingness, to follow God's call. And for God, a willing heart is the only criteria that matters.
Amen.
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