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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. (Mark 1: 14-20)
Jesus' first sermon in Galilee was short, simple, and very powerful. He needed no illustrations, no jokes; just the truth of the matter: The time was right according to God, and God's Kingdom had come near; "repent, and believe in the good news." That's the first part of this passage, and it's an important one. The second part is the call of the first four disciples; Simon and Andrew; James and John, all professional fishermen.
The first part is what Jesus and His disciples would be all about: Preaching that time was up; God had acted; people needed to listen, repent of their sins, and start believing and living the good news. The four hundred year silence was over. Not since the prophet Malachi had God spoken a word. The people wondered if they were alone and lost. Now, God has acted, sending His only Son to the world with this simple and powerful message. It comes with instructions: Repent and believe. The first means to confess our sinfulness to God, surrender our sins to God, and then ask God to turn us around, away from our sins and onto the road of life, eternal life. The second part is to truly receive, believe and live the good news. A forgiven person celebrates new life and walks away from all that was making him fall and fail. He or she tells everyone about this new life they have found in Jesus.
As Jesus is preaching this sermon he finds the first two disciples, Simon Peter and Andrew. They are busy casting nets into the lake. Jesus comes to them and says, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." It has always struck me how quickly these two said yes. As a youth in MYF or Sunday school, this passage always made me say Wow! In college and seminary as we studied this passage we find that the "back story" is that Simon Peter and Andrew may have been John the Baptist's disciples, so they had complete knowledge of Who Jesus was and what He was about. So, an invitation was a great thing and the only response they could think of was to say Yes! Remember, these men are professional fishermen, whose livelihoods impact families and community; the call from God made them place that responsibility behind the call and positive answer to God. God would provide, as God always does; the first thing was to follow and find out what adventure lay ahead for them. The second pair, also brothers, and also fishermen, James and John, left their father and his hired men in the boat as they too, said yes to this call from God. And off they went on an adventure that would forever change their lives, never to return to their homes, to be new and different men who would experience unexplainable things that only the Son of God could perform before them. And as far as we know, none of the four ever regretted their decision or living the new life they had.
You and I, through our baptism, have received the same call; to represent Jesus in our lives. Most of you to simply stay where you are and live a life that glorifies God right now. Some of us, have left our homes years ago, to follow Jesus on adventures that have taken us to experience unexplainable things that only the Son of God could perform, and our job has been to share those with others. Even now, as a retired pastor I say, "What's next, Lord? Where are You leading me? Let's go!" What are you saying?
PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for the good news of Your love, compassion, and mercy for us. We take advantage of this prayer to say that we repent of our sins, and turn to You to lead us towards faithfulness and fruitfulness. Grand us courage, wisdom, boldness to share with joy the way You have worked in my life. Make our faith bigger and stronger; this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have and great and blessed day in the Lord! Be vocal about your faith; people gotta know!
Eradio Valverde
PRAYER REQUESTS: Dear reader, the first thing on this cold morning is for you and yours to stay safe. As I write this, it's already cold here in Seguin; it has rained for a while and there is moisture on the streets and I would imagine on the roads. It's only going to get colder and worse. The advisory reports ask for us to stay indoors and to limit our travel on the roads. Please pray for first-responders as they answer calls in this weather. Pray for those who do have to travel to work that they travel safely. Please pray for Jane Boothe and Larry Ehrig, both in the hospital in Gonzales; may God bring healing to them. Please pray for Bill Weaver and his healing. Pray for those who do not have shelter in this weather and for those who offer it to them. Thank you for your prayers. My prayers are with you.
