Discipleship

January 23, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:14-20
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—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.

Was John’s arrest the impetus for Jesus to open his ministry? Perhaps he had been teaching/preaching in the background within the community of John’s followers, but the time had arrived to proclaim his purpose openly. What a challenging job God chose to do. God allowed humans free will while continuing to walk with them in their freedom, inspiring when invited, forgiving when forgotten or ignored, and never leaving the path.

By accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior, we have taken on that same assignment, fragile and weak as we may be. Born post-Depression and post WWII, I cannot think of another time in my lifespan where we have faced such peril, and the need for God’s disciples to do our jobs has never been needed more. We are the ones called to walk with others who struggle on the paths they have chosen without judgment as we work for justice for all. Such actions require us to move to the forefront of action and be the people God expects us to be. That requires us to seek God’s forgiveness when we have forgotten or ignored God.

The scribes Mark mentions in the above scripture are those identified as being the expert interpreters of scripture. Jesus dared to step forward and suggest a better reading. I have heard it said that one could find a scripture to back any of one’s ideas, which seems to be true. At the least, some scriptures are valued by some more than others. I love the title of Marcus Borg’s book Reading the Bible Again For the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally (The book is a good read also). Perhaps Paul’s three-year sojourn in the desert following his Damascus road experience was time spent Reading the Bible again for the First Time.

These dark days of winter are a great time to re-evaluate the understanding of our calls and our understanding of God’s vision of Kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for burying our heads in the sand while the world around us is being led astray in different ways. Grant us the courage to heed your call to walk with our fellow humans and share the good news of your love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.