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 sea—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. Mark 1:14-20
Reflect upon a time you received an invitation to go to a party, panel discussion, trip, job interview, or sporting event. In any of your invitations did you immediately drop everything you were doing and get up and go? Did you forget everything else on your to do list for the next couple of days?
I think this is the life altering power that Jesus’ convincing words can have over us. They will make us reexamine the status quo life that we can become entrapped in living. Two simple, profoundly powerful words, “Follow me,” Jesus proclaims these words and never once is it recorded that the soon to be disciples questioned, asked for clarity, begged for pardon, or wanted to know what was in it for them, they followed. They let down all guards, nets, business deals, and went on the journey with Jesus. Word would have spread of who Jesus was and that he was God’s son, so sure in that, the fishermen definitely felt a sense of comfort as they would be traveling with God, traveling with Jesus, and traveling with the Spirit. There was built in community.
Relationships matter, they really do, and they certainly mattered to these disciples as they dropped and followed. Relationships matter, how they form us, how they shape us, and how we need to pay attention to the ones we have and the ones yet to be formed. After all it’s when we are in community that we see transformation. James, Simon, Andrew, and John literally walked with the living, breathing Jesus. Well, it’s not like we were left out of this gift. We, being baptized by the Holy Spirit, have a companion too. Henri Nouwen once wrote, we can discover anew “not only that God exists but also that God is actively present in our lives.” This, if nothing else, is the affirmation we need to know that we aren’t nor will never be alone in this journey. We just have to acknowledge that in our being with God we are to be with neighbor.
Can you imagine the difference we would see in our lives if we were to attune our hearts to drop our nets every day? Think about those we are missing in our midst with whom we could form relationships. Jesus’ selection of these disciples and you and me is the affirmation we need to know that we exist for community. The choice we have to make is to know that when we walk, when we talk, when we eat, when we purchase clothes, groceries, shoes, or whatever else we are doing; it is with people. Our actions and choices of following Jesus imply to our community in all that we do that, we choose to do it with not for or to our neighbors but with.
Jesus didn’t wait for a time when it was good with these fishermen to put their nets down. Jesus didn’t set up an appointment with their administrative assistant. Jesus didn’t Facebook message them for plans, or email out when the next gathering was going to be. Jesus showed up, rocked their world, and invited them to be with him. This whole business of being with God will unfold just like this. Our comfort zones will be challenged, but when we say yes, when we drop our nets to follow, our lives will be enriched, livened up and full with the joy of one another in relationships, ones that matter.