Preached at Holy Cross, Seend and St Mary’s, Potterne
Hebrews 9. 24-28; Mark 1. 14-20
“And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.’”
Our Gospel reading today is one of the most famous of all Biblical passages, when Jesus calls on some fishermen to become “fishers of men”, and they drop everything to follow Him.
This can seem a little intimidating. We’re not all made to be the sort of people who just walk away from their jobs to convert the world. Most of us don’t have the right sort of personality, and some of us might be just a little too old for that sort of thing. More to the point, some of us might have responsibilities that we just can’t walk away from. Especially, we might have people we just can’t walk away from. I always feel a little sorry for Zebedee when I hear this reading, as his sons James and John simply walk off the job to follow Jesus.
Here are two little things to think about in relation to it. Firstly, remember that not all of Jesus’ followers were called to be apostles. The apostles are certainly in the centre of the action in the Gospels, but Jesus clearly has other devoted disciples who live in fixed places. Do you remember Jesus going to stay with his friends Mary and Martha in their home? Do you remember how, when Jesus and the apostles arrive in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He clearly has other followers there who have made preparations.