Daily Scripture: Mark 1:16 As he walked beside Lake Kinneret, he saw Shim‘on and Andrew, Shim‘on’s brother, casting a net into the lake; for they were fishermen. 17 Yeshua said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you into fishers for men!” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
19 Going on a little farther, he saw Ya‘akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, his brother, in their boat, repairing their nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zavdai in the boat with the hired men and went after Yeshua. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions: Invited to join Barnum’s early museum, Phillip Carlyle said, “Do you understand that just associating with you could cost me my inheritance?” Barnum said, “Oh, it could cost you more than that. You’d be risking everything. But, on the other hand, you just might find yourself a free man.” Jesus could have had a conversation much like that as he called his first followers. Mark typically gave the story an urgent feeling, using phrases like “right away” or “at that very moment.”
- What do you think made Jesus and his invitation so compelling that, when he called, these four men would promptly leave the security and familiarity of their family fishing business to follow him? There are, to be sure, many good ways to serve Jesus today, not just church employment. But what has gotten lost so that too many people see church work as boring, dull or dead-end?
- As we study Jesus' ministry, we find that he called people to change their employment (as in today’s reading), their habits, their attitudes or beliefs, their relationships, or even their understanding of life’s ultimate purpose. Is there any place in your life where you believe God is calling you to change something, maybe “right away”? If so, how much is your response like the response of the men in this story?
Tori Aerni is a summer intern in the Communications ministry and is a junior at Mizzou studying Strategic Communication. She spends her time hiking, rollerblading, listening to Taylor Swift, serving with International Justice Mission, cheering on the Kansas City Royals, leading a small group of seventh grade girls and searching for the world's best queso.
Fishing is frustrating. As someone with little patience who likes energy and excitement, I can’t say I particularly enjoy it. And when I finally catch a fish, more often than not it’s the size of my pinky finger. C’mon, this isn’t what I waited for! As I read Mark 1:16-20, I see a parallel of me as a fisherman and as a fisher of men, as Jesus calls us to be.
Like Peter and Andrew (and me), we don't always catch the fish we want; we want something bigger. And half the time, fishing isn’t even what we want to be doing! But God calls all of us to be ‘fishers of people,’ and He celebrates all the fish. In The Greatest Showman, we see Barnum celebrate all the fish. He doesn’t wait for someone bigger or better, or someone he can make his ‘project.’ He brings them together as they are and uses them for good. I can’t help but see a parallel here of how Jesus uses all of us to bring the kingdom of heaven as we are – despite our quirks and differences.
Becoming fishers of men requires Jesus’ call. It’s not about what we do, but what he does. But we must respond to His call. If Simon and Andrew didn’t respond, they would have still been fiddling with their nets in the boat.
Like these two men, Jesus calls us in the most ordinary places. Simon and Andrew were not in a church or at Bible study. They were doing their job. Jesus calls us to make disciples in our day to day lives. This isn’t always easy.
So often the moments the Lord has placed me to be a fisher of people are the moments I want nothing to do with Him. I stay inside my comfort zone, and say, “Someone else will do it.” But Jesus calls us to be uncomfortable, to join in community to serve Him and show His love to those who don’t know it, creating a picture of heaven like we see in The Greatest Showman.
The Greatest Showman inspires me to go outside my comfort zone, to listen to and fulfill God’s call to be a fisher of people (and reel in all kinds of fish.) In doing this, praying “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” starts to become a reality.
Like this post? Share it!
You might also like:
- We are God’s offspring
- “I am what I am by God’s grace”
- Prayer Tip: The Greatest Showman
- The Lion/Lamb: “I am not dead!”
- The divine wisdom of bridge-building
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
***
No comments:
Post a Comment