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WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER
Psalm 73:1-11
Mark 1:14-20
January 25, 2009
We are in this together! I don’t care how you define ‘this’. Whatever ‘this’ is, we are in this together. That means we take care of each other, we look out for each other, and we look after each other. We are not isolated family units that come together for one hour, one day a week, and then go our separate ways with no further interaction. We are bonded together, we are covenanted one to another, and we are in this together.
We are in the midst of a terrible recession, and may well be headed for a depression. These are the worst economic times this nation has seen since the 1930’s. In these hard times we need to take care of each other. When one of us loses a job it is entirely appropriate to pray for them and to invoke the power and protection of the Lord God in their life. But, more than that, it is also our duty and obligation as brothers and sisters in Christ to help them find a job. Any opening we hear about, any lead we come across, we pass on to this community. We don’t ever assume they already know about the job, and we don’t ever assume they wouldn’t be interested. When we pray to Jesus to help this family it is very common for Jesus to reply, “I am helping them, I sent you!” (John 13:34-35, Galatians 5:13) We are in this together.
Nothing is more frightening than being sick. We don’t prepare for the doctor to come and tell us, “This is very serious.” Somehow, we live our lives assuming we will never have medical needs, and one night in the middle of our sleep we will just quietly pass into glory. The news that we have a life threatening medical condition is crushing, and it’s even worse when the diagnosis is for someone we love – our spouse, our parents, or our child. When one of us becomes sick we will pray. But, more than that, we will be physically present. We will provide food, we will take them to and from doctor’s visits, we will clean their house and mow their yard. And, we will do it with a smile on our face because we are in this together.
We love imperfectly, and because of that, we sometimes enter into bad relationships. Instead of pursuing the Godly and righteous person who will build us up we chase after lust and passion, and we find ourselves in a wrong relationship. We will pray for the one among us who is dating poorly, or has married badly. But, more than that, we will intervene. We will protect the battered wife, and shelter the abused child. We will not turn our backs to their suffering and call it a ‘family matter’, because we are in this together.
Throughout our lives we make a series of bad decisions. No one starts out saying, “I want to be addicted to drugs, or alcohol, or pornography.” It starts out as a tiny, bad, decision, which escalates and snowballs until it dominates every aspect of our lives. We will pray, fervently, for those who have made unwise decisions. But, more than that, we will embrace their pain and physically help them to find solutions. We will hunt down trained counselors and therapists, we will call and check on them to make sure they’re keeping their appointments, and we will listen (patiently and without judgment) as they try to put words to their suffering. And, we will not abandon or shun them, as though they are lepers – to be kept outside our community at a safe distance. Whatever makes them cry, makes us cry, because we are in this together.
I don’t know what challenges you have faced, are facing, or will face. But, I can guarantee you that nobody gets through life scott-free and clean. Sometimes our suffering is a consequence of our sin. Sometimes our suffering is God changing our character. And, sometimes our suffering has nothing to do with us at all, it’s just necessary. (Romans 5:1-5; James 1:1-4)
John the Baptist didn’t do anything wrong. Mark starts our reading today by saying that John the Baptist had been ‘handed over’. That phrase can either mean that he had been arrested, or that he had been executed. John the Baptist does exactly what God wants him to do. He stirs the nation to repentance, he prepares the way for the coming of the Messiah, he challenges a corrupt religious administration, he trains disciples then willingly turns them over to Jesus, he intentionally submits himself under the authority of Christ, and he confronts political injustice. That’s what he was supposed to do. And yet, he is arrested and later murdered, without ever being tried and convicted. John’s ministry was beginning to cause conflict among the people (John 3:25-30). They were unsure whether to follow him or Jesus. Having fulfilled his spiritual purpose, John suffered and died, not because he did anything wrong – but because it was necessary.
Mark uses the end of John the Baptists’ ministry to foreshadow the end of Jesus’ ministry. He will later use the same phrase, ‘handed over’, about Jesus. Again, it will mean both arrested and executed. Jesus didn’t do anything wrong, there was no sin in him (Hebrews 4:15). But, if Jesus doesn’t go to the cross there is no redemption for the sin of humanity, and everyone will be lost. And so, Jesus suffered and died, not because he did anything wrong – but because it was necessary.
Sometimes it seems like the wicked get off easy, like they’re the only ones to prosper. It can feel like the only way to have a comfortable life is to be one of the bad guys. They certainly seem to have an abundance of wine, women, and song in their life. They have no shortage of friends to enjoy their celebrity and wealth. But, I would submit to you that wine, women and song is a desperate attempt to fill the void of meaning and purpose that exists without a personal relationship with Jesus. I believe that wealth is fleeting, and when the money runs out their friends will run away. In the end, they will have to stand before the great white throne of God and attempt to justify their lives (Revelation 20:11-12). Judgment. So, instead of envying the wicked, let’s see what Jesus would have us do.
In today’s pericope Mark has Jesus finding the Apostles up north in Galilee. We know this is not the first time they have met. Last week the Apostle John told us about Andrew, Simon Peter, Nathanael, John and James becoming disciples down south in Judah. In fact, Jesus has an entire ministry in Judah that we only read about in John (John 3:22-24). At the completion of that ministry Jesus sends the Apostles back home to their families. They kiss their wives, they hug their children, and they work at their jobs – providing for the needs of those who love and depend on them.
Then, when the time is right, Jesus comes to Galilee and he calls them to follow. They are not going to leave behind their work to embrace a life of leisure. They are still going to work hard, but it will be a different kind of work. And, it will require them to embrace a new family. Peter and Andrew are throwing their fishing nets from the shore. That tells us they were too poor to afford a boat. John and James on the other hand are out at sea, working from a big boat with large commercial nets. They are part of their father’s business which includes many employees. That tells us that John and James were wealthy.
These men are not from the same family, they don’t run in the same social circles, in fact they work for competing companies. They only have one point in common – a relationship with Jesus. That’s how it is for us, our one point in common is our relationship with Jesus. These men are going to spend the next three years protecting each other, educating each other, preparing each other for whatever life will throw at them; not because of blood lines or bank accounts, but because they are in it together. They become a family in faith, and so are we.
Jesus calls them from their jobs and tells them he will make them ‘fishers of men’. What does that phrase mean to you? Is it a happy phrase? We are going to go out into the unbelieving world and we are going to save the lost. We are going to bring them the message of Jesus and save them with the truth! Happy, happy.
Let me tell you what. In Jesus’ day the phrase ‘fishers of men’ was ominous and scary. Does fishing ever work out well for the fish? No, the implication is that it always ends badly for the fish. The prophets of the Old Testament used the fishing phrase anytime they were speaking about God rounding up the wicked for judgment (Jeremiah 16:14-16; Ezekiel 29:4, 47:10; Amos 4:2; Habakkuk 1:14-15). In fact, the Dead Sea Scrolls use that same phrase when they are talking about God returning at the end of days to wreak wrath and havoc on the unrighteous. Jesus doesn’t give the Apostles a happy job; he tasks them to become the collectors of souls for judgment.
Now, here is what is crucial for our understanding. We are not Jesus. We are not the judge. And, in fact, we don’t save anybody. Jesus is the only Savior, and Jesus alone saves. Big time theologians argue about exactly how that process works, and what is involved. And, while their debates become very heated, what they all agree on is that no fisher ever saved a fish – Jesus saves. We saw last week that disciples recruited new disciples simply by asking them to “Come and see”. It was Jesus that convicted and saved them. Here is the miracle of grace. As fishers of men we invite the fish to come and see, that God might judge them. When Jesus touches their hearts and they make that life changing decision they are no longer fish (2 Corinthians 5:17). They too, become fishers of men. Suddenly, we are in this together.
Mark said Jesus came to the fishermen preaching the ‘Good News’, that’s what the word Gospel means – the good news. The Greek word is euangelion which is also the root word of evangelize – to go out spreading the good news, being a fisher of men. You notice it’s not saving the men; it’s spreading the good news. Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is near. The Kingdom of God is a very dynamic phrase, it means that God is breaking into history doing something that has never been done before. It can be a hard saying to get a hold of. The Kingdom of God is here – it began with the first Advent – the birth of Jesus. And yet, the Kingdom of God has not come yet – it will come with the Second Advent – the return of Jesus. The Kingdom of God is both now, and not yet. The Kingdom of God has begun, and it will never end.
We in this room have a special relationship. We have an eternal bond. We are fish, who have become fishers of men. Once that change takes place it can never be undone. There’s something I want you to understand. Those of you who are married, your marriage is an earthly contract. You will not be married in heaven (Mark 12:25). But, this family relationship we have as ‘fishers of men’ is eternal, it will continue beyond the grave; which makes it a more intimate and permanent relationship than marriage. The first verse of the offertory today went:
By the sea of crystal, Saints in glory stand
Myriads in number, Drawn from every land
Robed in white apparel, Washed in Jesus’ blood
They now reign in heaven, With the Lamb of God.
The song is talking about us; about this permanent relationship we have with Jesus, and thereby with each other.
We are not the elite, nor are we the special. If you notice, the first fishers of men Jesus chose were very common and ordinary. And yet, it was with these ordinary men that Jesus changed the world. Jesus changes the fish into the fisher, and then he sends us out to tell others, “Come and see.” He does not promise us what is happy, or attractive, or even fair – only what is necessary. Because of that we are bonded and covenanted together for eternity.
Whatever you would do for your boyfriend, or girlfriend, or fiancé, or spouse – you should do for the others gathered in this room today. If your child came to you bleeding you would pray for him, it is right to do so. But, more than that, you would see to his physical needs as well. It is right to do so. So, whatever the economy, or sickness, or relationships, or bad choices throws at us – we are going to face head on as one. Because, we are in this together.
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