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14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” 16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. (Mark 1:14-20 NIV Bible)
Happy Monday, dear Friend! I pray this finds you doing well and enjoying life. How is the New Year treating you? How are you treating the New Year? It is interesting to consider the New Year as a start in a new adventure. All other adventures may have come to an end with the interesting combination of numbers that was 12/31/23. (The end of the old year was 123 123!). And speaking of adventure, today's passage is all about that.
God is love and God loves you so much, that He gave His only begotten Son so that you might have life and the fullness thereof. That is a nutshell isi the Good News. Jesus came to embody the Good News. And as we see, once His cousin John the Baptist was in prison, Jesus took over preaching the same sermon as John: "The time has come, the Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the Good News!" Jesus' ministry was one of invitation. Jesus came to invite all people to believe. There were no qualifiers as to who He would invite; all were invited and all were welcome. Oh, how this should have been the mission of all churches, but it was said of the Church in the USA that Sunday morning, 11 o'clock was the most segregated hour in America. And it was. There were some churches that would not welcome me, including one that for Human Relations Sunday did not follow the common practice of other communities where they would reach out to other UM churches of a different color and swap preachers. We, the members of the Spanish language church would swap pastors with the Black pastor of St. Paul. I did not set foot in that FUMC until I was their district superintendent. And how I wish that had been the only such church in that district, but it wasn't. One chose death rather than welcome others who were different from them. Not much good news in that is there? But, the Good News stands as presented by Jesus and John. And for the work to be completed, there would have to be helpers and so Jesus begins to call those Whom He knew would be the best to serve God as disciples.
While walking alone the Sea of Galilee and seeing Simon and his brother Andrew at work, Jesus interrupts their work and call them out of that work and into a new work; "Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people." And their response is immediate. What has long intrigued many, myself included, was that very thing. How could established business owners, or business people, stop, drop, and go after this man calling them? I do not have an exact answer, but I have several ideas. These two may have been among those who heard the good news sermon and because of their sins, repented and came to know the power of God to forgive. This may have happened one or two or many days before the call, and the two may have returned happy and discussing all that had happened in their lives. How did you act or what did you do when you came to faith? Did you talk about it with anyone? My wife, after hearing a Lutheran pastor preaching in a garage, heard the good news and ran home to tell her mother! This was a culmination of events and exposures she had had as a child to God and God's word since she was a baby. And it set in motion a desire to serve God. She mentioned to her mother she wanted to be a missionary. And, as my Mom had said, she said nuns could not marry. Nellie said she wanted to be a missionary not a nun. And the work of God continued in her spirit and mind as she grew up. So, when God revealed the marriage that was to come into her life, she was ready. How I wish she had said yes immediately to my dating her! Simon and Andrew said yes because they had come to a knowledge about God and God's Son. Have you?
Jesus continued His walk along the coast and see two more brothers at work. So, Jesus comes to James and John, sons of Zebedee and calls them and they, too, leave a family-owned business and followed Jesus. Again, how easy or practical is it for God to call people from an established business or profession and get a new disciple? Well, for God it is very easy. For us, it may be not easy at all; it may not come immediately. I did not say yes to God's initial call into my life. I had no set business, I was in eleventh grade of high school and I was hoping and dreaming about what college would reveal to me about a way to support myself and maybe others, when God called for me to enter His ministry. I had developed quite a list of what it took for one to be a minister. I had no real basis for this list; it was more of what I knew from the ministers I had known who had been my pastors, and to hear God call me, I was ready to say no, for I do not fit the idea or ideal of what it took to be a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. I did not have a halo around my head; I quite believed I was being fitted for horns. I had no wings to fly among the realms of heaven; the tennis shoes I had were were quite worn and they had only so much ability to lift me only so far. I was shy and I feared public speaking and the little speaking I had done did not make me stand out as an orator or a public speaker, and I had not memorized very many Bible verses, which I thought was a building block for ministry. Man, was I wrong.
Although it is 2024, the same urgency present when the words of "Repent for the Kingdom of God has come near" is present today and the call to those four original disciples was immediately answered because they sensed the urgency of the mission. Friends, the mission is still urgent. In Jesus' call there is also the sense of turn away and turn toward; meaning when we repent it's not a one and done deal; it's a continual turning away from self and all its negativity, and towards God, where we find love and compassion and all we need to reach the world for Him. We are also called to embrace the Good News and to believe in the transformation power of Jesus' sacrifice and the hope He offers. And lastly, we are to answer the call to action. Jesus' call was for a lifelong and even eternal adventure; we cannot be passive observer but an active participant in building God's kingdom as we use our gifts and talents to spread His love and grace.
PRAYER: Father God, open our hearts to hear your urgent call. Grant us the courage to repent, the faith to believe in your good news, and the strength to answer your invitation to follow you. Equip us to be fishers of men and women, instruments of your love and grace in the world. May our lives become a reflection of your kingdom, filled with your presence and overflowing with your hope. in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Go forth today, carrying the urgency of the moment, embrace the transforming power of repentance and faith, and answer Jesus' call to actively participate in building His kingdom.
Receive my love for you and know that I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
