Third Sunday after the Epiphany (B)

January 26, 2003

A People Possessed!

Mark 1:14-20

Four men answered Jesus' call to be His disciples. That call possessed their lives. Jesus issues that call to us. Will His call to discipleship possess your life?

I. This is more than a simple story

Jesus was not making a cold call upon these four men. I'm certain they knew about Jesus and who He was and had probably heard His preaching.

When Jesus called these men they walked away from everything to follow. "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. 'Come, follow Me,' Jesus said, 'And I will make you fishers of men!' At once they left their nets and followed Him." Amazing! Simon and Andrew dropped their livelihoods and followed Jesus. John and James did the same.

Think for a minute about what these people left behind. Nothing less than their livelihood. Fishing was not a hobby for these men. Fishing was their career, their vocation, their bread and butter. All four of these men had the potential for making a good living. They walked away from that good living and followed Jesus. Mark described their response as immediate and without any hesitation!

If you heard of someone doing this today you'd think him incredibly irresponsible, wouldn't you? What would possess reasonable men to leave behind a livelihood and family businesses to follow Jesus? They have families to support. They have obligations. What possessed these men to walk away and follow Jesus?

II. An offer they couldn't refuse is offered to us

I believe there are two specific reasons why these men walked away to follow Jesus. First, Jesus called them to participate in His ministry. He said, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men!" Jesus would make them full participants in His ministry.

Second, Jesus also called them to be in His inner circle of students. A disciple followed his teacher and learned not simply through study but also by doing and living what they were taught. A disciple received closer instruction because they lived with the master. That was what Jesus offered these four men. He offered them an opportunity to share in His ministry and learn from Him as inside students.

We may read this account with some relief. We think, "What would I have done if Jesus called me like that?" When we realize that Jesus will never walk up to us as He did these four men we're relieved. But Jesus does call you and me to be disciples. Jesus expects us to be a people possessed by the call to be His disciples just like these four men!

III. How do we live a life possessed?

How do we live a life possessed by discipleship? There is first an understanding, second a prayer. First, a life possessed by discipleship means understanding our livelihoods as our fields of discipleship. We tend to see life in terms of secular and sacred work. Ministers and clergy do sacred work. Policemen, teachers, salesmen do secular work. Clergy are the ones called by God to serve Him. Others simply work, right? Wrong!