Leave it all Behind and Follow

 Luke 4:42-5:11, 27-32

Last week we were with Jesus teaching in the Synagogue, announcing that he had come to bring good news to the poor, release to the captive and proclaim the year of the Lords favour.

 In the second part of chapter 4, after Jesus manages to walk through the crowd and not get pushed off the cliff, we read about Jesus travelling to Capernaum and releasing a man from an unclean spirit, healing Simon’s Mother-in-law from a fever, then more healings.

Then we get to the part we heard read this morning.

Jesus is travelling around Judea, teaching and healing.

 Simon and others have been out fishing all night.

Fishing was by net, by hand, and was very tiring work.

Fishing was done at night, I read somewhere that it was because the fish couldn’t see the nets during the night, but they could during daylight.

 Simon and the others had been out, working hard all night.

Now they are packing up, cleaning debris from the nets, patching any broken bits, letting the nets dry so they can be packed into the boat ready for the next night.

 Along comes Jesus, and the crowds.

Jesus gets into Simon’s boat; remember they have already met. Jesus gets into the boat, they go out to sea a little, so Jesus can teach the crowd.

 I imagine that when Jesus finished teaching, Simon was hoping they could now go home, have something to eat and sleep.

No.

Jesus says go out deeper and put down your nets – the nets they had just finished cleaning and drying and mending.

Simon says: Master if you say so.

 And they go and put the nets down again and catch more fish than they can handle.

 When Simon Peter saw this happen, he knelt down in front of Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t come near me! I am a sinner.”

 Then phrase we hear so often in the gospel of Like: Don’t be afraid.

And the fishermen go with Jesus.

I added in another few verses, this time about Levi, the tax collector. Jesus said: Come with me, and Levi did.

 The fishermen follow Jesus

Levi, the tax collector follows Jesus.

 Note: Being a disciple to a rabbi was a big deal! It was kind of like going to University. So, it is meaningful that Jesus asked regular fisherman to be his disciples. That means he believed anyone could follow his way. Even us! [i]

 On Friday morning the Church Council and some other leaders met together to listen to God, to be inspired, and to think about the possibilities for the year ahead. Our thinking focussed on what it means to Follow Jesus.

We looked at 20 pieces of Scripture, and come up with a list, including:
Sacrifice
Leaving the known for the unknown
Hearing God’s voice
Not worrying about security
Following Jesus is about relationship, not law.

Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, and they caught a huge number of fish, and then they followed.

Levi’s story appears to be different

Just like each of us have our own story of how we became aware of the calling of Jesus to follow.

For some of us we will follow Jesus after a miracle, or a blessing; for others it will be connecting with the story of Jesus in some way; for others it will be a spirit moment.

For each of us to follow Jesus we will need to give up
our dreams,
our security in wealth or status
the known

 When we follow Jesus, we will be prepared to

venture into the unknown
trust in God
live for others.

 Because following Jesus is about being in a relationship, not submitting to the law. 

 I wonder what your story is, what events led you to deciding to follow Jesus. And we don’t decide once, we decide each day, though for some people they no longer are aware of making the decision each day.  

 The image we see of Jesus is one who provides abundance, who knows how to meet our human needs, who invites us to work with him.

We Are invited to see the blessings and generosity of God, then to make the decision to join in the work of bringing transformation to the world, by allowing ourselves to be transformed.

 I know some people find the image of God as Father helpful. I am not one of those people and discussed it with my spiritual director one day. For me, God is my Grandmother, she was the one who was patient and kind and generous and warm. She had a huge lap, and it was always available for a little girl who wanted a hug.  

I obeyed my father so I did not get into trouble; but I liked being with and helping my grandmother, and I would not have done anything to hurt her intentionally. I was my best self with her, because I wanted to be, not because I had to be.

 

Do you follow Jesus because you are worried about getting into trouble if you don’t, or if you put a step out of line?

Do you follow Jesus because you have experienced grace, healing, forgiveness?

Do you follow Jesus because you are invited to?

Invited into an amazing life where you risk everything for new life.

A life where you don’t have to be an expert but allow God to work through you.

 

A question from a commentary this week:

is your discipleship being inspired by the joy of God’s abundant grace?
Or are we still stuck in the patterns of discipleship-as-obligation, continuing somehow to believe that we are earning our way into heaven? 
Does it feel like a challenge to let Jesus do the fishing for us, instead of trying all night with no catch?[ii] 

  

The fishermen left everything behind and followed Jesus. What will we leave behind to follow Jesus?

What if, as a Parish, we could leave everything behind,

the skeletons in the closet,
the past conflicts,
the idea that all will return to ‘normal’
the anxiety about numbers
the wondering who will do the work

 And in fact, it may not be all bad — to leave everything behind and follow. It may even feel freeing, to be unencumbered anew.  As Jesus calls us to “leave your nets and follow me,” we are granted permission to imagine all things new for the good of our communities and our discipleship.[iii]

 if to follow Jesus is to step into the unknown,
if to follow Jesus is to live in the love and guidance and inspiration of one greater than us
if to follow Jesus is to trust
if to follow Jesus means be willing to sacrifice all
maybe, we are all a bit too comfortable
maybe we have let our relationship with God fall into the predictable
maybe we are no longer listening for the voice that nudges us, that calls us to renewal.

 Jesus taught and healed and called and challenged
Jesus invited people into relationship with the God whose love and grace is transforming.
are we willing to follow
to leave behind those things that bind us to the past
are we willing to follow into new places, unknown places
trusting in Jesus as our guide and inspiration.

 

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[i] Be the Story Curriculum 20 January 01.25 Facebook

[ii] Rev. Cathy M. Kolwey RevGalBlogPals

[iii] Rev. Cathy M. Kolwey RevGalBlogPals