“The kingdom of God has come near…”

(Mark 1:14-2)

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers.  And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.”  And immediately they left their nets and followed him.  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.

            I read at a book recently called The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory about the latest iteration of what has come to be called the evangelical movement.  (which, by the way, I didn’t finish because the digital version was taken from me all because I didn’t complete it in their time frame!).  Well, it was a pretty good read that has actually inspired me as a preacher. 

I want to work to get the good news of the Gospel closer to right these days because a lot of folks who are claiming to be Christian, these so-called evangelicals are kind of messing things up.  And, as Paul Hollywood would say on the British Baking Show, it’s a shame…. 

In reading this book I was reminded of a book I read (in its entirety, I might add) several years ago entitled The Unlikely Disciple.  It was written by a young man from Oberlin named Kevin Roose.  One of my Wellington folks had been his teacher in the 5^th grade, and she had spoken highly of him and recommended the book.  At the time when the events of this book took place   Kevin was a student at Brown University.  As part of an assignment for one of his classes he was supposed to plan and execute an experience in a different culture.  So he decided to spend a semester at Liberty University as a way to fulfill this assignment.  This promised to be a very different experience than what he had grown up with in Oberlin and what he was used to at Brown. 

During his time at Liberty he involved himself in every sort of activity available including Spring break in Daytona Beach.  Now, as you might imagine, the Liberty students’ purpose in traveling from Lynchburg, Virginia to Florida was not to lie around and get a tan.  Rather, they were going there specifically to convert people to their brand of Christianity.  They understood themselves to be in God’s Army, and that they were at war.  Now, this was a foolish approach because, unfortunately, many of the college students who go to places like Daytona are there to get drink too much alcohol and generally carouse about.

            So, poor Kevin, who grew up in an agnostic sort of family, is trying to be open-minded and to learn about the activities at this very fundamentalist Liberty University.  In his desire to get the whole experience of being a student at Liberty, he had offered himself for what turned out to be an intense, insistent kind of approach to carrying the message that did not make disciples for Jesus Christ, but, instead, invited ridicule.  If I remember right, the whole team could claim only one conversion for the entire week.

            I tell you this as a contrasting story to Jesus’ calling his first disciples in the Gospel of Mark.  Unlike Kevin’s trip to Daytona, this was no arm-twisting, head-banging, my-way-or-the-highway activity.  Jesus’ call was, pure and simple, an act of God, an experience of the kingdom of God coming near.

            As Jesus passed along the Sea he saw (and this is not a simple laid eyes upon experience.  When Jesus looks and sees in the Gospel of Mark, it is a momentous experience.  We’ll talk about this more as the weeks go by.)  Jesus saw Simon, Andrew, James and John and said, “Follow me.”  It was just that simple—no sell job, no convincing, no arguing, no using scare tactics.  He simply laid his eyes upon them, and he called them to him.  They knew they had been seen, and they responded immediately and followed.

            When it is God’s call, when the kingdom of God comes near, when the time is fulfilled, we can trust that people’s ears, eyes and hearts will be open to the Good News of the Gospel. 

            Being open to the Good News means that people will be open to repenting and believing.  It means that they are open to being humble—humble enough to know that the Good News of the Gospel is not just about me, me, me.  Rather, it’s about Jesus and his mission to share the love and grace of God. 

When we hear Jesus tell us to repent and believe it means a recognition and admission that we are imperfect and flawed ourselves, and there is much in our lives that each of us needs to take a look at.  When we do this humble repenting, then our eyes can be clear, our ears can be open and our hearts will be ready to receive and believe the good news.  That good news is that God loves us, that God’s grace trumps everything, including our own big plans.  And then, we need to share that love and grace with all of God’s children.

            The personal challenge for each of us who is called to be a disciple is to be open-hearted and open-minded, cleared of our self-centeredness, as much as that is possible.  This is our work with God, and it will fill a whole lifetime.

            Oh, I like to think of myself as not having a personal agenda, as one who has my own mind and heart clear, open to hear what God has to say.  But the truth is that we all have fears that keep us defended and wary.  We all have egos demanding that our way is the only right way.  We all have trouble trusting that God will see us through whatever life deals and accepting that God’s will be done, surrendering to God’s will….

            So, in reading this book, I remember admiring the author for his decision to be open-minded to a group of folks that he probably had some opinions about, that he knew were quite different than he was. 

When we talk about a call to discipleship, a call from Jesus, it’s really hard to resist wanting to be in charge of how that call happens and how it’s discussed (both my own call and that of others).  Like the kids going to Daytona who have been trained in how to win souls for Christ, we, too, have in mind how people answer Christ’s call. 

The thing is, it’s really hard to trust God in these matters, to know that we are not in charge of someone else’s response. It’s hard to trust God in things such as how a church plans its future, for example.  It’s tough to believe that God will show us the way into the future because it would be so much easier to just write our own program.  Can’t you just see it?  Peninsula UMC—bold and beautiful, sanctuary overflowing with young folks and children….  Instead we need to let Jesus’ call unfold for people as it should.

            This really is God’s work.  We need to watch for God to open doors for us as we think about the future of our church as well as for ourselves, as we envision what God’s work through us can be. We need to always keep our minds open, setting aside our biases and opinions, always trusting in God’s will and God’s way.

            Hearing today’s lesson once again will help, the story of how Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of God and saying, “repent and believe in the Gospel.”  When we hear about Jesus being in Galilee, in the Gospel of Mark, Galilee is the place, both literally and figuratively, where the Gospel is preached, where the kingdom of God comes near, where the time is fulfilled.  This isn’t just about the Galilee in the Holy Land.  Galilee is wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, wherever the kingdom of God comes near.

            That takes me back to Kevin Roose, the young man from Oberlin who went to Liberty University.  In his experience, Daytona was not Galilee.  The kingdom did not come near while he was there.  The interesting thing is that he did find himself in Galilee, so to speak, more than a few times during his semester at Liberty, as he discovered that others genuinely cared about him and shared their understanding of the love of Christ, and as he saw young people really committed to living Gospel lives. 

So in this January of 2024, we need to be thinking about how God wants us to be in ministry.  We might even imagine ourselves being in Galilee, working away, doing our own thing, as we all do in our busy lives.  Suddenly, in strolls Jesus, looking at us, truly seeing us doing what we do; Jesus seeing the ways that each of us answers the call and the ways we haven’t, knowing the content of our character, without all the roles we play and the masks we wear.  As in our story, Jesus may see us and say, “Follow me….”

            Now, you know this story functions on at least two levels.  On the one, we are the recipients of Jesus’ call.  We are the ones who want to be, who need to be, seen by Jesus as he passes by.  We are the ones who desperately need to hear his call to repent and believe in the Good News of God’s grace.  …Our eyes meet, and we are his…. 

            The other level on which this story functions for us is the way that we all are in mission to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  That is the mission statement of our denomination, by the way—to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. 

Just as Jesus was out making disciples in the story, laying eyes on them and calling them, so we are out in the world.  We’re seeking to follow Jesus by spreading his love so that our world may be transformed.

  You may recall from the story that their response was immediate and radical.  They left their nets and old Zebedee, and they followed Jesus.

            Having heard this story anew, I want for each of us to live lives that are transformed because Jesus has come near to us here in Galilee.  He’s laid eyes on each of us and called us by name.  I want for each of us and all of us to know what it feels like for the kingdom of God to have come near. 

So, I’m not suggesting that the perfect relationship with Jesus has to happen first, because finding our mission, our calling, will not happen until it does.  I’m not saying, “OK folks.  You individuals gotta get saved before you can work on this thing.  I’m not saying we gotta figure out who’s Christian and who isn’t (as if it’s our business to have such a conversation).

            I am saying that this process will become richer and fuller as each of us comes closer to Jesus, both alone and together.  Knowing God’s will for us, determining how we are to be in mission, goes hand in hand with existing in a close relationship with God.  If we are the body of Christ in our world, then we must exist in communion with God as Christ did and does.

            To repeat: hear for yourselves the proclamation of Jesus to repent and believe.  Join Simon and Andrew and James and John in being the ones who really hear Jesus’ call to discipleship.  Be ready to jump up and follow.  That is the beginning of knowing how we can be in mission and ministry for the transformation of the world.  Amen