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January 24-25, 2009

Mark 1:14-20

“The Call to Follow”

Pr. Tom Schoenherr

 

      Peter, Andrew, James and John are called to follow Jesus. A crisis point, a decisive moment for them when life changes in ways they never planned. There are many  people, like me, for whom the call to follow Jesus is a life-long process during which there may be small insights and glimpses into what it means to follow Jesus Christ.

 

      I am still amazed at these disciple’s responses to Jesus. Did they go to get clothes or food to take along? How long did they know Jesus? Had they just met him, or did they have a relationship with Jesus already? Did they have brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers or other friends to say goodbye to?

 

      I have known Jesus all my life. My parents always made sure that we went to church and Sunday school, Lutheran elementary and high school. I went to a Lutheran college and did post graduate work at a university and 3 different Lutheran seminaries. There has not been a time in my life when I was not listening to Jesus’ message; hearing Bible stories, studying theology and being in the company of theologians and lay people who were disciples and theologians of Jesus Christ.

 

      Jesus called me to follow him in Baptism, but I still have trouble doing that. I have family, work, commitments, my own needs and desires, “business as usual” that make the response to Jesus call by these disciples still so amazing to me. They are being called to turn away from business as usual, and from the safe place of the life they know, to follow Jesus Christ and embrace a totally new way of life. They are called to live each day in God’s promise, and to follow where Christ leads.

 

      I am still discovering what that means. Maybe I don’t trust Jesus to lead and guide me. I confess to being tied to business as usual, my safe place, my comfort. For example, we are living with what happens when we as consumers, and investment banks and mortgage companies choose to continue with business as usual, seeking our own comfort. We end up with bad news that just seems to keep getting worse.

 

      For me, there is no lightning bolt at the time of God’s call. There were people in my life, who kept nudging me with encouragement, “You should consider going into church work.” I have spent a lot of time reading the Bible, praying for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, listening to people to discern God’s call to follow. What continues to amaze me is that Jesus has not stopped calling me to follow him. He says to and me, “keep on following, keep on believing the Good News.

 

      Instead of bad news, Jesus gives us Good News that he has taken our bad news of God’s judgment for our lack of trust and our desire to hold on to our safe places, business as usual. His death and resurrection for us give us God’s love and mercy instead of condemnation and death.

 

      Jesus keep on coming to you and me through the Word of God we hear today and through the Word of God in the bible, through the water of baptism and the meal of the Lord’s Supper, through the nudges and encouragement of God’s people around us to follow him. The call is no less decisive to us as it was to Peter, Andrew, James and John.

 

      What does the call look like? It may be the call to be faithful to our spouse or our friend in the face of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. It may be using our gifts to visit and care for a loved one. It may mean following the call to be a pastor, or teacher, or diaconal minister, or a youth, music, learning minister. It could be going to a foreign country to help people who are hungry or in need of water. It could be being a Stephen Minister. We could list a variety of ways in which God calls us to use our gifts to share the Good News with others.

 

      Maybe we can see our work as a calling from God, that through what we do we are called to see surprising opportunities for living and proclaiming the Good News of God. Being willing to hold people accountable and yet surprising people with forgiveness and mercy at work, at home, in our neighborhood. We get to share the hope that is in us through faith in Christ, and we get to dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that God has made. In these ways and many others we are called to fish for people.

 

      Our congregation is now partnered with 14 other ELCA congregations in the St. Louis area in a process called, “Partnership for Missional Church.” For 3 years, Good Shepherd, led by a Steering Team and a Listening Team will be involved in learning more about Christ’s mission to love the world and learn more about our community. We will be discovering ways in which we can serve our community more effectively, following Christ in the mission that Jesus Christ is calling us to in this area. Our fist of 3 annual cluster events is February 13-14 at Hope Lutheran Church in St. Charles.

 

      I am still learning and growing in understanding the extent of Christ’s call to follow and what our mission is in the world. Each day something new is revealed to me through study and prayer and conversation. We keep on following and keep on believing the good news of Jesus Christ, and that gives us hope to be able to move away from the safe places in our lives to enter the new opportunities for mission where Christ is calling, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”

 

      Where are those places in your life and in the life of our congregation, where God is calling us to follow him? In Jesus name. Amen.