The Gospel reading took place long ago in a land far away in a completely different culture from our own. It may be hard for us to either picture the scene or really understand that life. But let’s try.
The Sea of Galilee is about 4 miles long, North to South, and it is at the very northern-most tip where the gospel reading takes place. Here, there is a very small fishing village, essentially named “Fishington” with houses made from black stones. Entire extended families would live in the home – Grandma, grandpa, cousins…the whole gang. There was a strong sense of community. The children would grow up attending synagogue school, which boys and girls attended like elementary school and learned to read, write, and recite the scriptures. Learning Hebrew was very much a part of their lives. Boys could expect that as they grew up their fathers would teach them the trade that they knew. So if grandpa was a fisherman and dad was a fisherman, chances are, that son would also be a fisherman. With one exception: if in synagogue school that boy showed tremendous drive and had real talent, he might continue his Hebrew studies in Beth Midrash, where the rabbi would give the adolescent more Hebrew understanding. And then very, very few, only the most ambitious, would ever get to the point that they would pursue becoming a disciple, a talmid.
And these very promising would-be disciples would seek out a rabbi. These rabbis would not function in the same way that rabbis do today, where rabbis are the leader of the local Jewish temple, but a rabbi, in the day, was a brilliant Hebrew scholar, a teacher. So, these disciples would seek out a rabbi to follow, study under him for maybe 15 years, and in the end, try to become the rabbi – to be that much of an authority.
In this long process, these young men would leave their community of their family and join the rabbi’s community. It was actually very difficult to be given the opportunity to follow a rabbi, as rabbis could be extremely selective and turn down the would-be disciple. Also, there would be a bit of attrition, a weeding out, as certainly not all those who followed the rabbi could make it through the entire process. And then those who dropped out would go back to being fishermen, potters, olive producers…. every day people, plain old folk.
One day Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He saw some everyday people, basic fishermen. Peter and Andrew were casting their net into the sea. They were just going about their everyday business. And Jesus called THEM. Normally, disciples ask to follow the rabbi, but here, the rabbi calls them. What an opportunity! They immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. James and John weren’t casting their net; they were mending their nets. Jesus calls them. Same thing! And they, too, followed Jesus! James and John left everything – their nets, their father, the boat, the hired hands- the lives they knew– because they had an opportunity to follow this rabbi known as Jesus. Bear in mind that when the disciples were called, they knew that this teacher, Jesus, spoke with authority, but it had not yet been revealed to them (or the world) that Jesus was the Jesus we know him to be, the Messiah. They trusted him without even knowing that he was the divine Son of God!
Do you picture Peter, Andrew, James, and John being given this opportunity and then clinging to their nets, grasping onto their boat, reluctant to let go, afraid of what life with Jesus may be like? No! The Gospel reading gives us a clear sense of urgency…. Immediately they left their nets and followed him. By accepting Jesus’ invitation to follow him the disciples were given a massive opportunity to have a new life.
Fishing in Jesus’ day was hard work. We may picture a day of fishing to be sitting out on a dock on a pretty summer day, little fishing rod in hand, gazing at a lazy red and white bobber, waiting for a fish to bite. But fishing certainly wasn’t like this for Peter and his friends. There were heavy nets that had to be thrown into the water and hauled back into the boat. And then when the fishermen weren’t casting their nets, they were mending their nets…. cast mend cast mend. Possibly, fishing had daily grind to it. So perhaps there wasn’t just the opportunity to follow Jesus. Maybe, just maybe, following Jesus was also an opportunity to leave the nets behind.
Maybe the same could be said for us. Metaphorically, We may have nets that keep us knotted up in our daily lives. We may have boats that trap us. There may be unwanted strongholds in our lives; are they worth clinging to? What is it in our lives that we are grasping onto for fear of losing? To what securities do we clutch out of habit or fear? Like the disciples, we can choose to leave those things in our lives behind and have the new life that Jesus gives and put our trust in him. Unlike the disciples, we know that Jesus is the Divine Son of God, certainly worthy of our trust.
We, too, are given the opportunity to follow Jesus. Jesus loves us all so much. He wants us to be near him. We can hear Jesus calling us. We can see Jesus saying, “Come.” Understandably, we are all at different paths in our walk with God. Some may be walking away from God, some might be looking for him, and some might be looking to have a closer walk with Jesus. With Jesus, we have a massive opportunity for a new life.
Jesus wanted and needed everyday people who were available. These folks weren’t perfect. They didn’t know everything. They made some blunders along the way, and some of them had some real marks against them. None of that mattered at all. They were exactly who Jesus needed. And Jesus is still looking for people to come to him who aren’t perfect, don’t know everything, who’ve made some blunders and will likely make plenty more. He loves us so much. Wherever you are, Jesus is calling. Follow him.