JONAH 3:1-5,10 | 1 CORINTHIANS 7:29-31 | MARK 1:14-20
The Pastor’s Reflections
Last week we reflected on the account of the call of the first disciples as told in the Gospel of John. John the Baptist saw Jesus from afar, pointed to him and declared, “Behold the Lamb of God.” That short phrase was enough for two of the Baptist’s disciples to leave him to follow Jesus – literally. They began stalking him. He turned around and confronted them with life’s most profound question. “What are you looking for?”
Their answer may seem a bit silly at first, but it really wasn’t. Their answer, “Where are you staying?” was just the first of many questions. They wanted to know who this man was. They wanted to know what John meant when he called Jesus the Lamb of God. Was he the Messiah?
Jesus answered them with an invitation. “Come and see.” They did. They followed him. From that moment, four o’clock in the afternoon as we’re told, they followed him. They became his disciples.
This week the evangelist, Mark, relates a different version of the story. He doesn’t begin the story at the Jordan River with John the Baptist pointing to Jesus. Mark tells us that John had been arrested. Shortly after the arrest, Jesus began preaching in Galilee. His message was simple but wonderful. “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
It was so simple, the good news gospel he preached. He said it was the fullness of time. All the prophecies had come together. The kingdom of God was here. but it wasn’t the beginning of Israel’s Golden Age. The Kingdom of God was here, but its capital wasn’t Jerusalem.
Walking along the Sea of Galilee Jesus began to gather disciples. The first were Simon and his brother, Andrew. They were busy casting their nets. He shouted out to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” He gave no explanation, only an invitation. They, too, made an immediate about face. “They abandoned their nets and followed him.”
Then he walked up to James and John who were working in their father’s small fishing business, and called them. They, too, made an about face. They dropped the nets they were mending and left their father with the boat and with the hired hands.
For Simon and Andrew and James and John a new life began that day. They heard his call and took a radical step. They abandoned their past and began to walk along a new path. It was the road to the Kingdom of God. Little by little, they would discover that their journey didn’t lead to a country or a city. It was a journey to the heart. They would eventually understand his teaching, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”
