You
Cannot Follow What You Cannot See
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.
Mark 1:16-18
Every time I read about the calling of the four fisherman, I am astounded
at how they just leave behind prior loyalties and do as they are summoned--to
follow and be disciples of this Galilean preacher.
And they have no real idea yet who Jesus is. That will come later;
but now, who knows what they thought?
The questions I want answered are given no time at all.
I want to ask, but is this the first time they have met Jesus?
Surely they had seen and heard him once or twice to be so willing to go.
But Mark gives us no hint about that.
How typical of Mark!
That's just like him and his gospel.
It really is.
One of Mark's favorite words is "immediately", and its synonyms.
Ernest Hemmingway is reputed to be the modern architect of sparse writing.
You know, "less is more."
Mark had him beat by almost two thousand years.
I guess Mark would say it doesn't matter anyway.
How many visits would you like to see them have with Jesus before they make
up their minds?
Maybe a written discipleship package they could take home and study before
making this commitment.
I meet with people who want to be members and give them an orientation manual
I have written.
Mark would say, good for you, but no matter how many times they had heard
Jesus, when he calls you, you have to choose--will I go, or not? Two choices--simple
really.
We would say, sure, but the Holy Spirit had been working in their lives to
prepare them for this day.
Probably.
But when Jesus calls, you still have to say yes or no.
Paul the apostle said no.
Jesus said yes and Jesus' "yes" won out over Paul's "no", and turned it into
an unequivocal "yes"
Is this fair, you may ask.
No its not. Paul got a much harder time of it than you or me.
But do you ever read of him complaining that a normal life was turned upside
down? Not once.
Do you hear him complaining about the beatings, the imprisonments and all
the other hardships?
Negative.
So, I think I will take a pass on having God's grace be quite so insistent
as it was with Saul of Tarsus.
Back to the fishermen.
They just get up and they follow.
Whether it was the first, second or eleventh meeting we do not know and Mark
seems to say it doesn't matter.
Jesus only called once.
They only needed to say "yes" once.
But one thing we do need to recognize.
It's about recognition.
You cannot follow what you cannot see.
Mark Buchanan from New Life Baptist Church in Duncan, is quoted in
Christianity Today:
Twice I've
visited heaven, or close to it: the Masai Mara, perhaps the greatest wildlife
preserve in the world. ...is part of the vast grasslands that stretch over
the fertile plains of East Africa. Here, elephant,
cheetah, gazelle, wildebeest, water buffalo, giraffe, crocodile, rhinoceros,
hippopotamus, and hundreds of other (animals) roam and soar ... without
fear of man.
But the guides
I had for the two trips could not have been more different from one another.
The first guide, Stephen, made the trip a thing of joy and wonder and endless
surprise. The second guide, William, almost ruined the trip entirely.
The difference
was one thing: Stephen paid attention; William didn't. Stephen had good eyes;
William didn't. .. I mean, Stephen looked at the right thing at the right
time with the right focus. And William didn't.
Stephen was
a Masai man in his early 20s who grew up a few miles from the very ground
we crossed together. The land was in his blood—every hillock and grove and
bend of river. He had an intuition for finding animals that, at least
to (me) seemed supernatural. He would stop and gaze at something two kilometers
in the distance. It looked to me like more grass and acacia, but he would
drive toward it. Maybe 300 yards away, I'd finally see what he saw: a mother
rhino and its baby grazing in scrub brush or a pride of lions sleeping beneath
a tree or a pair of cheetahs sunning themselves on a shelf of rock.
William was
a Comba man in his mid-50s who grew up in Nairobi. He couldn't
see for looking—but he wasn't looking anyhow. He spent most of his time chatting
on his CB with his friends. He just followed the crowd. Wherever other vehicles
congested, he went. We saw the animals, yes. But we saw them from within
a swarm of dozens—sometimes hundreds—of other sightseers, each jockeying
for a better view. One time we were traveling alone from the pack. A herd
of elephants grazed at the roadside, mere feet away. William sailed past
them, because he didn't see them.
"William!" we
yelled. "Elephants!"
"Huh? Where?"
I tell you
about Stephen and William to tell you this: the kingdom of God is at hand:
Pay attention. You could miss it entirely if you choose to look at the wrong
thing. 1.
Yes, exactly.
You can't follow what you cannot see.
How is it that some met Jesus and almost instantly had an uncanny awareness
of Who they were with. Maybe not in precise doctrinal terms, but in the way
that really matters--they knew they were in the presence of someone who could
change their lives in ways they had only dreamed about.
And others saw what? A carpenter? Another misguided preacher? A Galilean
nobody? A solution to a momentary problem? Maybe an interesting teacher.
Or maybe they just didn't see. Couldn't see. Had given up looking. Whateverrrrrr.
The four fishermen had eyes to see and recognized something important enough
to get them moving in the right direction--toward Jesus.
Do you know that is all God ever really asks of us anyway?
Maybe you didn't know that.
Maybe you thought the kingdom of God was for those who get it all right.
Score in the ninetieth percentile of some index.
Or maybe those who can understand the hard stuff.
Or maybe those who can act religious and like religious stuff.
Nope to all the above.
All God ever really asks of us now is that we are willing to move toward
Jesus.
That when the Holy Spirit tugs on your heart strings, you are willing to
move in the direction of the tug.
That's not the end of the matter, but God will give you the grace to deal
with the rest in its own time.
When He called Saul of Tarsus, He did not say, "Saul, I want you to be a
missionary and endure great suffering."
But by the time Saul had really experienced the new life Jesus would give
him, he would walk barefoot on razor blades if he had been asked.
He says something about that too.
He says, whatever the cost, its not worth comparing to the incredible glorious
riches of being on God's team.
We have all heard or read of stories of someone finding the Picasso at a
garage sale, and buying it for $2.00.
But you have to be able to see what you are looking at.
I wish I knew what that is all about for different people.
I wish I could tell you four simple steps to gain spiritual eyes.
I think one of them would be caring one way or the other.
But I won't say that to you, because at whatever level, God brings you here
because you do care.
Presbyterian theology would say God does the calling--which is true.
Andrew and Simon, James and John were not out looking for the Anointed One.
The Anointed One came looking for them.
Jesus found them and called them. "Come", he said "follow me and I will make
you fishers of men."
And they did. Sure, there is more to it than that, but those are the relevant
facts.
You hear the invitation in your own life.
God speaks to each of us in His own unique way.
To fishermen he talked about fishing.
To a tax collector up a tree he spoke about hospitality.
To a woman at a well he talked about water.
But Zacchaeus had to come down from his tree.
The woman had to engage him in conversation.
The fishermen had to do what they were asked.
Not everyone did of course.
A man with a lot of money thought the price was too steep.
People with high religious positions thought they knew it all.
Pilate who was fearful of political consequences decided to stay on the fence.
Judas responded initially, but changed his mind and opted out of the plan.
They all had something in common--they could not see Jesus as the answer
to whatever questions they had.
You cannot follow what you cannot see.
At the end of the service, I will pray for you to have eyes. I hope you pray
that too.
God is willing to give you sight to see, if you really want it.
A blind man named Bartimaeus called and called out to Jesus when he was passing
by.
Jesus asked him, "what do you want?"
"I want to see", he replied.
Jesus gave him his sight.
Do you want to see Jesus for who he is?
Let me pray for you. Better still, you pray it for yourself.
But I am going to close with another quote.
It is by William Alexander, author of The
$24 tomato.
If you were
doomed to live the same life over and over again for eternity, would you
choose the life you are living now? The question is interesting enough, but
I've always thought the point of asking it is really the unspoken, potentially
devastating follow-up question. That is, if the answer is no, then why are
you living the life you are living now? Stop making excuses, and do something
about it. 2.
What do you want? Jesus said to a blind man.
I want to see he replied.
Do you want to see?
You cannot follow what you cannot see.
Prayer. Jesus please give me eyes to see you for who you are. Not in all
details, but that you are the answer to my questions. And while we are asking,
please give me ears to hear you when you call. I know the rest is up to me.
Amen
Preached Sunday, January 25, 2009
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Notes
1. Mark Buchanan, in his sermon "The Kingdom of God Is Like…" PreachingToday.com
2. William Alexander, "The $64 Tomato" (Algonquin Books, 2007), p. 245
Online Resources Consulted
http://www.preachingtoday.com/
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