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The 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany (B) Grace and peace be with you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen! A television series my wife Carol and I often enjoy watching is “Bally Kissangel” – which is shown on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) network. Bally Kissangel is a small village in Ireland, and the show portrays a delightful cast of characters who live in the village and the various situations that they face in day to day living. This past Thursday evening, Carol and I watched an episode in which two of the characters – Ambrose, the village’s policeman, and Neve, the strong-willed daughter of the richest man in town – were about to be married. It was going to be the social event of the year in the village of Bally K. Things were going smoothly until a couple of days before the wedding, when a very strange thing happened… At the village’s church, a huge half-ton statute of St. John the Evangelist was being hoisted up to the roof, where it was to be displayed. Ambrose came by and parked his police car in front of the church in order to visit Father Peter Clifford, the village priest. In the meantime, the person hoisting up the statute was losing his grip on the rope (you can see where this is going!) – and no sooner had Ambrose gotten out of his car than that statute came crashing down through the car’s roof exactly where he had been sitting just seconds before. Ambrose, of course, was in total shock – this was a life-changing event for him! Not only because he had narrowly escaped death, but especially when he considered that the statute had been of St. John the Evangelist – the patron saint of PRIESTS! As Ambrose thought and prayed about what had happened during the next couple of days, he became convinced that this accident was a direct sign from God that HE was being called to become a priest! (This sounds similar to what actually happened to Martin Luther when he decided to abandon his future career as a lawyer and instead become a monk after almost being struck by a bolt of lightning.) Needless to say, Ambrose’s fiancé Neve was NOT happy when he told her of his decision. “You’re dumping me for God?!” “You’re dumping me for God?!” The rest of the episode showed the humorous pathos of what that decision meant for Neve and her friends – including their having an “Almost” Wedding Reception in the village pub – as they tried to make sense of why she was being rejected by the man she loved. In the end, of course (with a little help from the village’s priest, Father Clifford – who told him that the statute was actually that of St. John the Baptist), Ambrose changes his mind – he decides to remain a policeman (a job that he loved), asks Neve again to marry him, and all was well. It was a funny but very thought-provoking episode. It got its viewers to think about how God calls people to a certain vocation – especially when it might involve their having to change their job or even having to change a relationship with someone who is important in their life. That was the situation in today’s gospel. As we heard: “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. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.” (Mk. 1:16-20) All this sounds very similar to the episode of Bally Kissangel that Carol and I watched. Is this what it means to follow Jesus? Does following Jesus mean that we should abandon our careers? Does following Jesus mean that we should leave people whom we love and care for, and who love and care for us? We know that at least Simon was already married (see 1 Cor. 9:5) – and we have to wonder what his wife thought about his leaving his business as a fisherman in order to be with Jesus? And we have to wonder what did Zebedee think about his sons James and John abandoning him there in the boat? For some people, “following” Jesus may indeed mean making some major changes in our careers and relationships. However, I personally question whether the disciples’ decisions were quite as sudden and dramatic as are suggested in today’s gospel text. Most likely, Simon and Andrew, and James and John, had gotten to know Jesus over the course of a number of weeks leading up to this. They were attracted to Jesus – they experienced God’s love in a very special way when he was with them – and they wanted to continue to grow in that love with him. I am sure that they had probably given a lot of thought and prayer about what that should mean for their lives – and they had almost certainly talked this over with members of their families, their co-workers, and their friends about their possibly becoming a part of Jesus’ ministry. In other words, I believe that their response to Jesus’ call was not at all a surprise to those who knew them best. Unlike Neve being shocked by Ambrose’s sudden decision in Bally Kissangel, and accusing him of “dumping her for God”, I would like to think that the relatives and friends of Simon, Andrew, James and John were prepared for their deciding to accompany Jesus in his ministry – and even gave them their blessing. Also, the disciples’ following Jesus did NOT necessarily mean that they were abandoning their previous careers and relationships. As far as we know, those four men STILL remained fishermen and often worked in that vocation even after they became Jesus’ disciples. In the same way, St. Paul later still worked in his vocation as a tentmaker even during his ministry as an apostle (Acts 18:3). And I would not at all be surprised if Jesus himself had still occasionally worked as a carpenter even in the midst of his ministry. These vocations of fishing, tent making, and carpentry were not just their “jobs” and means of making a living – they were also ways in how they relaxed amidst all of the stresses that they faced. Following Jesus did NOT mean that henceforth they would never again be able to use their talents in the vocations that they loved. In the same way, I do not believe that those four disciples had to give up their family relationships and responsibilities either in order to follow Jesus. As I have said, Simon Peter still remained married and often was accompanied by his wife on his journeys (1 Cor. 9:5) – and the mother of James and John (almost certainly with her husband Zebedee’s support) accompanied them often during their journeys with Jesus, helped to provide for their needs, and according to Matthew’s gospel (Matt. 27:56) she was among the women who were with Jesus when he was crucified. Be all this as it may, my point is that “following” Jesus does not necessarily mean that we have to give up our present careers and relationships that we have. But it does mean living in a new way because his life will influence and shape what we think, say, and do. As followers of Jesus, our vocations and relationships will become ways in which our lives can then touch the lives of others with God’s love – just by being who we are in our day to day living. That is what Jesus meant when he told Simon and Andrew that he would “make them fish for people.” They would still be fishermen – but with their lives now being shaped and influenced by Jesus, they would also now become more than just fishermen. They would also be sharing God’s love with other people, in the same way that Jesus was sharing it with them. And the same thing is true for US in our vocations as farmers, business owners, bankers, homemakers, or whatever – or in our relationships as husbands, wives, parents, or children. When we “follow” and get to know Jesus, his life and his love shapes and influences our lives – and then because of that, OUR lives will also begin to influence and shape the lives of other people whom we interact with in daily living. My wife Carol in her congregations of Ebenezer and Froid Lutheran Churches gave a wonderful illustration of what this is like. On Christmas Day, she read the second reading from the first chapter of Hebrews, which says that (Jesus) is “the reflection of God’s glory, and the exact imprint of God’s very being.” For her children’s sermon on this passage, she then showed the children a baby Jesus in the manger, gave each of them some Play Dough, and asked them to make a reflection or imprint of him. ALL of them started to fashion their own model of Jesus by making their Play Dough into a head, a body, a manger, and so forth. They all tried to COPY the manger piece. But that was NOT what a reflection or imprint was. Finally, Carol showed them how to take a piece of Play Dough – squish it up and make a ball of it – and then press it over the baby Jesus to make an impression. People, that is what it is like for us when we “follow” Jesus. Following Jesus does not mean that we try to “copy” Jesus and do what he does. Following Jesus simply means letting him “imprint” our lives with his love – with God’s love – so that we can be the same kind of persons to others in our daily living as he is to us! That is what happened to Simon and Andrew, James and John in today’s gospel. And yes, I would like to think that this is also what happened to Ambrose and Neve in that television episode of Bally Kissangel. It was not by earth-shattering events, but rather by apparently ordinary ways, that Jesus called them to follow him and live with him and let him thereby shape and mold and “impress” their lives with the love of God – so that they could then BECOME more and more like Jesus in their living, and then share his love with others. Following Jesus simply means spending time with him and letting his life shape our lives through and through. May this be so for us today, and every day. For this is how God’s kingdom comes to us, and through us – to the entire world! Thanks be to God, in Jesus’ name! Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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