Disciples
Scripture Collage from the Gospel of Mark
1 – Jesus began his ministry by inviting some companions to join him.
2 – As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him (1:16-18).
1 – His success rate was quite remarkable, especially given what these individuals would have to leave behind.
2 – As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him (1:19-20).
1 – Jesus’ band of disciples was a mixed group. The Galilean fishermen were soon joined by a less-than-popular tax collector they happened upon.
2 – As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him” (2:13-14).
1 – There were twelve that he called in this way, just like the tribes of Israel.
2 – So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him (3:16-19).
1 – So far, this looks a little like a boys club roaming the countryside together, but there were women in this inner circle too.
2 – There were also women… among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem (15:40-41).
1 – Among this company is the only follower of Jesus singled out for future remembrance.
2 – While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head… Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her (14:3, 9).
1 – The gospel tells of many encounters Jesus has with other women too, both recipients of his healing power and models of faith.
2 – Now there was a women who had been suffering from a bleed for twelve years. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in a crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes I will be made well.” Immediately her bleeding stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed… And Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (5:25, 27-29, 34).
1 – Meanwhile, the twelve had their ups and downs as faithful companions. Jesus sent them out to minister in his name, but sometimes they missed the boat altogether. They could be a tad literal in their thinking.
2- Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And Jesus cautioned them, saying, “Watch out – beware the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?” (8:14-18).
1 – They also tended to squabble about their status in the new order Jesus was bringing about.
2 – James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them… But it is not so among you; whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant” (10:35-37, 42-43).
1 – Sometimes they understood in moments of beautiful clarity.
2 – Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Bpatist; and others, Elijah, and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah, the Lord” (8:27-29).
1 – But then stepped in it the very next moment.
2 – He began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be killed, and after three days rise again… And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (8:31-33).
1 – A stumbling, stilted sort of progress, two steps forward and one step back. Following Jesus is not an easy business. It comes with promise, but also trouble as the Messiah proclaims a new world on its way.
2 – Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first” (10:28-31).
Sermon
What does it mean to follow someone? We use this term ‘follow’ in all sorts of everyday language. It literally means to go or come after a person, to travel behind them. She followed the cat out of the room. He followed along with this older brother, tagged along. The police followed the escaping car, trailed in hot pursuit. But so often the term is used in metaphorical or symbolic ways. We talk about following in someone’s footsteps – modeling something of our lives after the example set by someone we respect. In our jobs and careers, we might follow in the footstep of someone who came before us. If we like what someone does, we might follow suit, do the same thing – with its origin from following one of the 4 suits in a card game. We might follow the career of a famous person – an athlete or a movie star or a politician – we pay attention to what they are doing and what they have accomplished. These are all forms of following.
Maybe the most common contemporary use of the word ‘follow’ is what so many of us do on social media. We follow a page or a person on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or some other platform. For those who may not have a clue what I am talking about, when someone posts or puts up a photo or a story or an opinion on social media – what you can see on your phone or tablet or computer – you can choose to like it – give it a thumbs up, but you can go further than that and press to follow that page or person. It means you have interest in seeing everything that they post and want to receive constant updates. You want a slightly higher form of engagement. You like what you see and want more of the same. So you follow, and keep getting more and more of their posts. People typically have all sorts of different people they follow, in various realms of life – it is diffuse. The bar is set low. It is easy to follow someone; it does not demand much of us, and we can drop the following at any time. We also talk about social influencers – people who have gained many many followers, often celebrities or people with certain expertise in an area, and their opinions start to influence our society – sometimes with their opinions on various topics – politics, culture, fashion, values, sports, etc. or they start to influence the very purchasing decisions of people. They have a power that affects their followers, if we choose to listen and to follow in more ways than simply getting their posts.
I carried some of these understandings, definitions and wonderings around the meaning of ‘following’ as I listened to our Scriptures this morning. Are we talking about the same thing? Last Sunday we started a series on the Good News of Jesus Christ as we explore that through the voice of the Gospel of Mark, the first gospel writer to have been written down. Last Sunday Kevin introduced us to some of the uniqueness of Mark’s gospel (its directness and quick pace, its hidden mystery, its focus on good news and the kingdom of God.) At one point he said ‘Mark’s gospel is as concerned about discipleship as it is about good news… the way to receive this good news is to turn and follow in the way of Jesus. Becoming a follower is how you get ears to hear and eyes to see. It’s not just about what you believe, but how you live it out. How you follow in the way of Jesus every day.’ We heard the Scripture Collage, and it was all about following. What can we learn from these passages?
Mark’s gospel clips along at a good concise pace, so in line with my namesake, I want to share three rather quick observations on the nature of following Jesus, before introducing a video re-enactment of the calling of the disciples that captures these very themes.
- First Observation: Discipleship/Following is costly and means leaving things behind. Mark writes so matter-of-factly. Jesus passes along the Sea of Galilee, sees Simon and Andrew casting nets, and says ‘Follow me.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. Mark likes this term immediately – right away, instantly, without delay. The same thing with Levi – ‘he (just) got up and followed him.’ Jesus went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and the rest of the 12 came to him. The women too followed him and provided for him. There is this immediacy – you drop what you are doing and go in a different direction in life. You leave behind your profession, your security, your relationships, your routines, your comforts, your way of life. Following means something. It makes a difference in your life. This is not a quick swipe of a social media post, soon forgotten – a thumbs up ‘like’, and you move on. This following is serious stuff. It will bring you into all sorts of adventures and challenges and blessings you would never have anticipated. You will never be the same! The bar is set high. For the disciples, it will become costly – Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant. A woman breaks open and pours out a costly ointment. A disciple denies Jesus and the weightiness of his arrest. The women get up close to the cruelty of the cross. But this costly, life changing, transformational following is worth it! To Peter, who begins a sentence – ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you,’ Jesus says ‘you will receive a hundredfold now in this age, and in the age to come… Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’
- Second Observation: To be a disciple is to join an absolutely diverse group of followers. Look whom Jesus calls – some common fishermen, a despised tax collector, a person who betrays him, brothers who compete for the greatest place in the Kingdom. I can just imagine the friction and contrasts and diversity of opinions when the disciples huddled together to plan or do anything. The circle of Jesus kept expanding. He kept calling – most follow – the women who surrounded him and shared his journey, the bleeding woman brave enough to touch his cloak, Jairus, a synagogue leader, and his dying daughter, the possessed Demoniac, the gutsy Syrophoenician woman, the deaf man, the blind man, the rich man, the poor widow, the boy with the spirit, the children who gathered around. Why does he eat with sinners and tax collectors? The list could go on. This is no social club held together by commonalities, shared social status or similar life journeys. This is not a smaller and tighter social media echo chamber of like minded folks. Following, discipleship, the Kingdom of God itself, keeps expanding and is open to all, no exceptions. And we are richer for it!
- Third Observation: To be a Disciple is to Mis-Understand and Mess up, but still be loved and accepted. The story of the disciples could be called a comedy of errors, a gong show. They keep botching things up and stumbling around. So often they do not have a clue what Jesus means by what he has said. They don’t understand his parables. They miss the point of his lessons. They take impulsive mis-guided actions. They do not perceive or understand. And yet Jesus sticks with them. He answers their questions over and over again. He keeps showing them a new way. He keeps seeing their potential and their promise. He keeps loving them and seeing them as beloved children of God. This is more than a casual friend request that you click yes or no to. I was at a Pastor’s workshop this week with Wanda Wagler Martin, retired Executive Director of Shalom Counselling. She used the wonderful phrase – ‘our Beautiful Ordinariness.’ We are all just that – very ordinary humans, who none the less, are beautiful, valued, loved. She quoted an R. Wickes ‘When ordinariness becomes the spiritual foundation of self-esteem, one of the fruits is the freedom to be in relationship with others in healthy, loving and helpful ways.’ Jesus loves us in our very ordinariness. Following Jesus will be this stumbling, stilted sort of progress, two steps forward and one step back; it will not be easy; it will be bring us to wild and wonderful places we never would have imagined. But it is a journey and a calling well worth it. We will never be the same!
This summer, at the Mennonite Church Canada Assembly in Edmonton, Arlyn Friesen Epp, Director of the Common Word Resource Centre in Winnipeg, prepared a video based on the calling of the disciples. It really says it better than I ever could. Arlyn’s version was based on the parallel passage in Luke’s Gospel. Mark, in his stark style, 5 verses, simply says that Simon and Andrew were fishing and get called. Luke takes 11 verses and has them fishing all night without catching anything, until Jesus leads them to the deep waters and an overwhelming catch. But it’s the same basic story of calling and following. So, I invite you to listen with ears to hear.
Arlyn Friesen Epp – ‘About those Fish…’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2IoV4YchE4&t=2s