1. Good Morning. Let’s pray. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
2. Opening Comments: Let’s me open with a question – “Have you personally heard Jesus’ call upon your life?”
Let me ask that same question in a number of different ways so that we’re all on the same page. These questions may sound alike and that’s because they are. They’re trying to get at the same thing. Here we go:
a) Are you a real disciple of Jesus Christ?
b) Has He actually and personally called YOU?
c) Have you heard his personal call upon your life?
d) Was there a point in your life when you knew that Jesus was calling you to His side: to follow Him?
e) Do you actually love and follow Jesus . . . (I should add) . . . most of the time?
f) Is He the only one you follow as a disciple?
g) Who or what was and is the dominant force in the formation of your soul?
h) Are you a reasonably good disciple of Jesus Christ?
In our Gospel reading this morning we read about Jesus calling His disciples to His side. Let me read it again but this time from The Message:
Matt. 4:12 When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. 13 He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills. 14 This move completed Isaiah’s sermon:
Matt. 4:15 Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
road to the sea, over Jordan,
Galilee, crossroads for the nations.
16 People sitting out their lives in the dark
saw a huge light;
Sitting in that dark, dark country of death,
they watched the sun come up.
Matt. 4:17 This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”
Matt. 4:18 Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. 19 Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” 20 They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.
Matt. 4:21 A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them, 22 and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father.
Matt. 4:23 From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God’s kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God’s government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives.
Now let’s take a moment and try to envision the scene when Jesus was walking along the beach of Galilee. Imagine the scene – it’s a beautiful Mediterranean day. It’s early morning. The sun is just arising. There’s a gentle breeze blowing and a small flotilla of fishing boats are rocking in the water with their nets out.
St. Matthew then tells us:
Matt. 4:18 When Jesus was walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, He saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. 19 Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” 20 They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.
Did you hear that? “They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed Him!” Both of them. Peter didn’t do it first and then Andrew followed. No! They both immediately dropped their nets and followed Him!
The Greek word translated “follow” is aÓkolouqe÷w - and it literally means: to follow or accompany someone who takes the lead, accompany, go along with.
This is what a disciple does! He or she follows someone who is taking the lead.
How could this happen? Do you think they may have already heard about Jesus and were so taken by Him that when they were personally invited they just jumped at His offer?
That’s pretty dramatic stuff don’t you think?
Could you imagine this ever happening in reality today? Could you imagine it ever happening to you?
What sort of person would it take to elicit such a dramatic and self-abandoning response from you?
Try to imagine the sort of person it would take to get this sort of instantaneous and dramatic response from you!
Can you imagine a scene in which Peter and Andrew came home that night and told their parents and their wives what they had decided to do?
What sort of response do you think they received?
(Ask members of the congregation for their thoughts)
But we know that whatever protestations to remain might have occurred they held to their decision to follow Jesus. Nothing could stop them!
They left their safe family business to follow this wandering Nazarene!
What do you think it was that Jesus said, did or was that so moved these men to leave all the comfort of home to follow Him?
AND WHAT WAS IT IN THEM THAT SO RESONATED WITH JESUS?
Let’s remember that they didn’t ask to follow Jesus – He invited them to follow Him!
He invited them and something so compelling in them caused them to respond with their “Yes.”
Let me quote now from an Irish author and mystic by the name of John O’Donohue who once wrote:
“something in us senses and knows how perfectly the contours of the soul fit the divine embrace.”
You know what I mean? When you embrace your beloved you just seem to fit together perfectly!
The shape of our souls were made for one embrace and one embrace only – the embrace of God!
Yes, we were made restless until we rest in God! We were made in His image. We were made for communion with God. The contours of our souls were made to fit perfectly God’s divine embrace!
Jesus chose these men because they were made ready and through them He would continue to offer His holy embrace to all of humankind!
Now let’s return to my opening questions:
a) Has Jesus personally called YOU?
b) Have you heard his personal call upon your life?
c) Was there a point in your life when you knew that Jesus was calling you to His side: to follow Him?
d) Do you actually love and follow Jesus . . . most of the time?
e) Is He the only one you follow as a disciple?
Now turn with me to Psalm 27 reading verses 1 thru 4 and 13 thru 14:
This is the song of a true disciple. Please listen to them once again:
Psa. 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
Psa. 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
Psa. 27:13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
What a magnificent song of praise!
To be a true disciple of Jesus Christ we must seek to be worthy to since such a song of praise!
Listen to the last few verses once again:
Psa. 27:4 I’m asking GOD for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate his beauty;
I’ll study at his feet.
Psa. 27:14 Stay with GOD!
Take heart. Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again:
Stay with GOD.
As called disciples with God we must stay with Him – we must live with Him – we must remain in His Presence.
Oh, He’s there with us for as St. Paul once wrote:
We live and move and have our being in Him! (Acts 17:28)
But are you and I fully attentive to His Presence?
Can we sing Psalm 27 in communion with King David with real conviction?
How real is our relationship with Jesus?
How good a disciple of Jesus are we really?
Have we really responded to the call of our Lord or have we said,
“OK now what can you do for me?”
Or, have we said, “OK now bless me with Spiritual Gifts and power!”
Or, “OK but I want to keep my old pleasures.”
Or, “That sounds swell! May I assume that it’s fun from here on out?”
Have we assumed that all will be well from now on? And then when tragedy hits or suffering strikes us or someone we love have we subtly abandoned our commitment and fallen into a sterile “words but no deeds” type of Christianity?
All form and no substance.
And what is the posture of a great disciple?
Is it not one who is ardently attending to his or her disciple?
How ardent are we?
How would you and I describe the quality of our discipleship?
Would we use words like:
Ardent
Devoted
Pious
Sincere
Godly
reverent
Enthusiastic
Loyal
Fervent
Zealous
Devoted
Dedicated
Committed
Sold out
Or would these words better describe our actual discipleship?
Casual
Distant
Careless
Compromised
Insincere
Impious
irreverent
Unenthusiastic
Uncommitted
Traitorous
Ignoble
Impotent
If our sense of Jesus’ Presence has gone or is waning then it’s not Him who has drawn away – it’s us!
He is there for us all of time. He has called us and wants to perfect what He started when He called us by name!
But He gives us the choice to reject Him or simply not to remember or think about Him!
That’s what love does – gives the beloved the choice to return one’s love or to walk away. Love never compels!
Can we all close our eyes just for a moment please and imagine ourselves as great disciples.
What would your life look like if that were so?
Really try to imagine what you might look like if that were true.
To do this it might help if you imagine a particular situation that comes immediately to mind that you perhaps handled badly recently. How would you handle it as a good or indeed a great disciple?
Were you able to imagine it? Did you try? I hope so – for your sake and for the sake of those around you.
That is who God is NOW CALLING YOU TO BE!
Let’s pray . . .
