Leaps of Faith – Mark 1:14-20

A text – Mark 1:14-20

1:14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,
1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
1:16 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.
1:17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”
1:18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
1:19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.
1:20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

A reflection:

Now what would make folks who were running family businesses just up and quit that work and follow Jesus? Mark’s gospel is thought by some scholars as a bare bones telling of the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, meant for non-Jewish persons who wouldn’t know about all the prophesies that had come before him. So to keep the story brief and exciting, Mark may have included only the information about Jesus and the people he miraculously touched in some way. He would have left out a lot of the back stories of everyone, including Jesus himself. I understand his need for brevity. But these stories of how Jesus called his disciples make me want to know more.

What kind of magnetism must Jesus have had?! According to Mark’s gospel he just stood on the shore watching fishermen fish, called out to them, and then watched Peter and Andrew and then James and John just abandon their work and follow him. Those men must have been in the right frame of mind to trust, to see, and to seize the moment. The Holy Spirit must have been at work in them and their circumstances. The Holy Spirit comes to us before an epiphany and creates the conditions for revelation. These men were probably mostly in their twenties or early thirties, middle aged for folks in Jesus’s day when the lifespan may have been around 50. But even if it made sense for the disciples to leave their work and follow Jesus, I am left with the image of old Zebedee left behind in the boat with his crew, his mouth open, wondering where his sons were off to in their leap of faith.

I have rarely made life-changing pivots like the ones the disciples made, but now and then, even a classic planner like me finds an opportunity and jumps into it. Have you done that? What do you think made you take the leap? Were you sorry you did it? I wasn’t. I had a few doubts once the direction of my life had changed, but I really never regretted taking the chance. Looking back, I suppose the Holy Spirit had been preparing me for that change all along. And even though the move made sense to me, what were the folks I left behind thinking when I did it? Was I answering a calling without anyone understanding it? What happened to you and those you left behind when you took a leap of faith?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for leaps of faith in our lives. Thank you for always being ready to show us opportunities and nurture our openness. Help us to seek out those friends who might be preparing for changes, and when the Holy Spirit readies them, help us to walk with them into their leap of faith.  Amen.