Year B, Epiphany 3 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church North Andover, MA The Rev. Stephanie Chase Wilson
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
Can you imagine this gospel story if it happened today? Jesus comes up and says, “Hey Simon. When Andrew gets off the phone, I want to tell you something.” Andrew, beeps them on hold. He says, “What’s up?” “Simon, would you mind turning the game off.” Simon says, “How ‘bout I just pause it. I’m almost to the next level.” “Well listen... I want you to follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” Simon says.... “Can we talk about this when I finish this game? But not tonight, the Super Bowl’s on.”
Like last week with Philip and Nathaneal, this week is another call story. The importance of these stories is found not only in the fact that God calls all of us to his vineyard, but that we have a choice to respond or not. We have a choice to follow Jesus or hide behind the ease of life.
Jesus gives us our first clue. The passage begins with the statement, “Now after John was arrested…” and then it goes on to the heart of the matter. But perhaps this is not so unimportant a line as it seems at first glance. This line is telling us that John, Jesus’ cousin, the one who baptized him, who proclaimed repentance in the face of the coming Kingdom, this very same one had just been arrested by the authorities. What does Jesus do? He immediately picks up where John left off, proclaiming the very same message, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Objectively, that seems pretty crazy. Jesus knows the consequences of this message. His cousin John has been arrested. Yet in the very same sentence we learn Jesus knowingly goes out and does the very same thing, in the face of grave danger. He chose to do what was right instead of what was safe.
At the end of the gospel of Mark, as Jesus sits in the Garden of Gesemene, “he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want’” [Mk 14:35-36]. Even here, Jesus had a choice. He could’ve left the garden and avoided the cross. But in the face of danger, he chose the path of righteousness. From the beginning to end of the gospel, with both small and large decisions, Jesus makes the choices which are right, even if they are not safe.
In the same way, he is asking Simon, Andrew, James, and John to leave their livelihoods and follow him. He asks them to drop everything, leave their families and responsibilities and step out into the unknown, following a man whose predecessor had just been arrested. Yet again, not a safe decision. But somehow these simple fishermen know that Jesus is of God and that following him is the right decision. They don’t let cell phones, or Super Bowls, or fishing nets, or irritated fathers stand in the way of answering the call.
In the same way, all of us are called daily to make decisions. Often the choice is between what is right, and what is safe or easy. Usually they are small decisions, nothing important. But over time, the cumulative effect of these decisions add up into a pattern of behavior. When the big decisions arrive, we may not have the strength or knowledge to even know HOW to make the right decision. We are asked to consider the consequences and in all decisions choose Christ.
Should you laugh at a racist joke told at a party, or speak out against it even if it makes you look like a wet blanket? Should you tell the cashier when she makes a mistake in your favor at the grocery store, or will you let it go? Should you watch that sitcom, or play ball with your son? What would Jesus do? Our choices in life make us who we are. The question is, are we of God or not?
A couple of years ago, “Time Magazine” came out with its “Persons of the Year” issue. It chose “the Whistleblowers,” three women, each of whom stood up, at great person risk, to tell the truth. They each had a decision to make, and each could’ve sat back and let the organization continue on its path. That would’ve been the safe choice. But instead, each stood up and said, “Wait a minute! The truth must be told!” Each chose to do the right thing.
One of the women, Cynthia Cooper, Vice president of internal audit at WorldCom, told the audit committee of WorldCom’s board that the company had been cheating in its accounting practices. She handled operational audits, but when she and her team discovered some irregularities in the financial audits department, they secretly researched that department and reported their findings. There were many choices for her here. She could have ignored the irregularities and let the financial audits department take care of itself. When she discovered conclusive proof, she could’ve kept quiet. That would’ve been the safe and easy path, but she chose instead to do the right thing. And once she reported her findings, Cooper faced tremendous stress. The company she loved began to unravel. She lost 30 pounds and was concerned she’d be fired. She’s been screamed at, patronized, her files were perused, and all her phone and email messages were collected. In addition, many of the employees who lost their jobs at WorldCom blamed her instead of those who lied and cheated the company into bankruptcy.
When Cooper was feeling particularly low, her mother once said to her, “Never allow yourself to be intimidated; always think about the consequences of your actions.” In other words, follow the call to do the right thing, even if it isn’t easy. Just like Simon, Andrew, James, John, and Jesus.
It’s unlikely that any of us will be called to drop everything to answer Christ’s call. It’s unlikely that any of us will be required to become highly public figures to answer Christ’s call. Most of us will be like Zebedee, the father of James and John. Most of us will be required to stay behind and mend the nets and go about our every day lives. Barely getting a footnote, if that, in the annals of history. But in the course of our lives, like Zebedee, we will be asked to do the right thing as well. Zebedee was asked to let his two sons go. Zebedee’s call was not so dramatic as that of his sons, but it was no less important.
Jesus’ call comes in many forms. We are all called daily to follow him, to make right choices, sometimes in the face of opposition, or fear, or embarrassment. We may not have to face such dramatic calls like James or John or the whistleblowers, but our daily calls and our responses to them, shape our lives into ones which follow Christ or not. Let us all have the strength and grace to answer Christ when he calls.
