By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sermon Text: Mark 1:16-20
Sermon Theme
Jesus calls two sets of fishermen to come and follow him. They do so immediately. There is no delay. There are times when Christ may call us to act or respond in surprising ways. At such times to delay is to fail in our faith. Yet there is nothing magical about recognizing when we need to respond immediately. We continue to walk by faith and not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7). Scripture gives us many examples of the need to act without delay. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. responded to an uncertain call in the summer of 1965 to come to Chicago. He stepped out in faith. On this weekend when we commemorate his birth we can learn from his example.
Sermon Outline
- Summons. When Jesus comes to the shore of the Sea of Galilee he doesn’t engage in any discussion with Simon and Andrew or James and John. He doesn’t “recruit” them in any normal way. He explains nothing about his call to discipleship except that he will make them “fish for people” (Mark 1:17). Jesus doesn’t suggest. He summons. The four heard his call in the context of who they were, fishermen. They may well have already heard about Jesus and his “gospel,” which was very different from Caesar’s “good news.” In the summer of 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. received a summons to come to a northern city for the first time to lead a civil rights movement. The city was Chicago. He had been preceded by people who had prayed publicly and been jailed for their efforts. There were many reasons not to go but he heard the invitation as a summons from the Lord. We need to be ready to respond to the Lord’s summons.
- Seduction. When we hear the call of Jesus we invariably hear a counter call, similar to the mythical “song of the Sirens” which lured sailors to their doom. Jesus calls us to discipleship, not to Club Med. There are always practical reasons not to follow Jesus. When these first disciples are called many potential questions are left unanswered. How will they live? Who will pay the bills? What about James and John’s father? Will he be able to maintain the family business without them? Jesus acknowledges that the call to discipleship for all of us involves the risk of “the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desires for other things” coming in and choking his word (Mark 4:19). Even Lot, “a righteous man” (II Peter 2:7), warned of the coming destruction on Sodom, delays and has to be dragged out of the city with his family by angels (Genesis 19:15-16). There were many voices, even from his own supporters, who argued against Dr. King going to Chicago. There were good reasons to delay. Nonetheless, King responded to the Lord’s call.
- Sign. How do we know when we are receiving a genuine call from the Lord? King went to Chicago as fulfillment of his calling in the civil rights movement. He was convinced that the issue of civil rights was not only a matter for southern states but for the whole country. Facing uncertainty and skepticism, King and his wife moved into a dilapidated tenement apartment in Chicago in January 1966. The early disciples who followed Jesus faced similar uncertainty. When Christ calls us he calls us in our unique circumstances of life. The fishermen were called to fish but in a new way. The four early disciples would have known of the prophecy of a greater prophet than Moses that they were to heed (Deuteronomy 18:15). The dual sign here involved the concrete situation of the disciple and the calling of the word of God. Dr. King knew he had a unique role as a civil rights leader. He saw the challenge of the poverty and injustice of Chicago in the light of Scripture’s clear teaching (Psalm 12:5-6; Proverbs 22:22-23; James 1:27). Without knowing the outcome he responded by literally moving to Chicago. Each of us has a unique role and a special calling. With prayer and dependence on God’s word we must be ready to recognize and respond to Jesus’ call.
Questions for Us
- How does Jesus call us to “fish for people” today? What are some of the ways that we can do this?
- What are some of the ways that we delay when we have the opportunity to serve the Lord? How can we reconcile the “cares of the world” with Jesus’ call to discipleship?
- The disciples were called in their personal role as fisherman. What is our special role in serving the Lord? What is our “Chicago?”
