“Follow Me”

A Sermon Preached by

The Rev. Jean Niven Lenk

at the

First Congregational Church of Stoughton

United Church of Christ

A University Chaplain tells a story like this.[1]  He received a call from a parent who was very upset because his graduate school-bound daughter had just informed him that she was going to go do mission work with the United Church of Christ in Haiti.

“Isn’t that absurd?” shouted the father. “A Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and she’s going to dig ditches in Haiti. …”  And then he told the chaplain, “I hold you personally responsible.”

The chaplain responded, “Me?  What have I done?”

And the father replied, “You ingratiated yourself with her and filled her head with all that religion stuff.  She likes you, that’s why she’s doing this foolishness.”

“Now look, buster,” said the chaplain, struggling to keep his ministerial composure, “Weren’t you the one who had her baptized?”

“Well, yes,” said the father.

“And then, didn’t you read her Bible stories, take her to Sunday School, let her go on that mission trip with the youth group?”

“Well, yes, but …”

“Don’t but me,” interrupted the chaplain.  “It’s your fault that she believed all that stuff, that she’s gone and thrown it all away on Jesus, not mine.  You’re the one who introduced her to Jesus, not me.”

And the father replied meekly, “But all we ever wanted her to be was a Congregationalist.”

“Sorry,” responded the chaplain.  “You’ve messed up and made a disciple.”

The gospel of Mark gets right to the point.  He skips all those nice stories about Jesus being born in the manger and the three wisemen traveling from the East to pay homage to the King of kings.  Instead, the first chapter of Mark’s version of the Good News starts right off with Jesus’ baptism, followed by his 40 days in the wilderness.  Then Mark moves right to the beginning of Jesus’ Galilean ministry.  Jesus gives a short sermon – shorter than mine this morning – and then he begins recruiting people to help him out in his ministry, for he knows that he is going to need help with the mission God has sent him to do

So, as the man of Nazareth is walking on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, he comes across two fishermen, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew as they are casting their nets into the water.  Jesus says, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”  And Peter and Andrew drop their nets “immediately” and follow him.  Then Jesus continues his walk along the shore and sees two more brothers, James and John, who are in a boat with their father mending their nets.  And he also says to them, “Follow me,” and they, too, drop their nets and follow. 

Now, in my former life – that is, before I dropped my “net” to enter seminary - I worked in the corporate world and one of my responsibilities was recruiting new employees.  I can tell you that Jesus' recruitment method is NOT the way to get a good hire.  Wouldn't it be better to go to Jerusalem and pick the brightest new minds in the religious scene?  Shouldn't Jesus be looking for demonstrated expertise in all things religious?

But Jesus seems to issue his call randomly, to whomever he sees.  No job interview, no prior experience, no credentials of any kind seem to be needed.  He doesn't go out and recruit the elite, or the wealthy, or the most educated, or even the most righteous.  When Jesus begins his work, he gets ordinary people in the midst of doing ordinary tasks.  Is this anyway to start a business? 

Well -- if think about it – yes!  God is interested in reaching everyday, regular people.  Had Jesus sought only the most learned scholars in the temple, or the most righteous members of the faithful -- the ones with the best resume or the most credentials -- well, most of us would be left out; Jesus’ message would have come across as available only to a select few, only to the qualified. 

But Jesus extends a loving call to four average people.  He doesn’t demand their perfection before they join him; he simply calls them as they are.  And he recruits them by building on something they already know how to do and speaking to them in imagery they can understand. 

He doesn't say, "Come and help me spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God."  They might not have understood him.  Instead, Jesus says, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people."  Now, that's an image they can relate to!

And what's even more amazing is that these four men go with Jesus without a moment's hesitation.  No further discussion of the job duties.  No questions about the benefits package.  No quibbling about salary. 

Why do they go with Jesus, seemingly without delay?  Mark doesn’t say; but it’s not too hard for us, with the benefit of hindsight, to imagine that these simple fishermen can already feel the presence and pull of God’s promised kingdom.  We can imagine that Jesus' invitation to a new life as fishers of human hearts and souls is so pressing and poignant, that they don’t try to resist because they know they can’t.  All they can do is leave the security of their established livelihoods and the safety net of their family ties, giving up their old life and the old ways of doing things, to follow Jesus.

In Jesus' time, rabbis were sought out by students, who would ask to become "disciples," a word which comes from the Greek for “learner.”  But Jesus' invitation to discipleship entails more than merely sitting at his feet and passively absorbing his wisdom.  He asks “will you join me?” -- offering his disciples a place not at his feet, but at his side, an invitation to join with him in proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.  And so, the disciples are with Jesus when he is preaching and teaching.  They are with him when people with all kinds of needs and infirmities surround him seeking his healing touch.  They are with him on the mountainside, when Jesus tells us to “love our enemy” and “to turn the other cheek.”

We know that, as the story unfolds, Jesus’ disciples will not always understand him.  Sometimes they will become afraid.  Some of them will even deny and betray Jesus in the hours before his crucifixion.  But at the end of Matthew’s gospel, the risen Jesus takes those disciples to the top of a mountain and delivers the great commission.  He takes those disciples - the very ones who abandon him, who follow him at a distance and then run away – and he sends them out to preach and to teach and to baptize the world over.

And if Jesus can use these average and imperfect fishermen to spread his word, he can use us, too.  What imagery do you need to understand that you, too, are called by Jesus to spread the Good News? 

Are you an accountant?  Then Jesus' invitation is "Follow me and I will show you how to make people know they count." 

Do you like to cook?  Jesus says, "Follow me and I will show you how to feed people’s souls." 

To the carpenter it’s, "Follow me, and I will make you a builder of people." 

Whatever image is necessary for you to understand, Jesus is calling you be his disciple.

What exactly does it mean to be a disciple in today’s world?  One of the best ways you can begin is by simply sharing your faith with others and inviting them to church. 

Do you know that one of the primary reasons people don’t come to church is "No one ever asked"?  People don't usually say, "Well, I don't go to church because I have hermeneutical argument with the Church's interpretation of Scripture." 

They don’t say, "Well, I have difficulty with the reformed tradition's understanding of eschatology," or pneumatology, or whatever "ology" you want to pick.  Just the ordinary little fact, "No one ever asked."

I’ve shared with some of you that I spent the first 20 years of my adult life away from organized religion.  Then, as I matured, I began to feel a spiritual void in my life, and I thought that I’d like to start going to church again.

I spotted a lovely white church in the center of the town where I lived, and said, "That's the church I'm going to go to… when I start going to church."  I said that for years, and for years I just kept driving by.  You see, I was afraid to go into that church because I didn't know anyone.  I was afraid to be a stranger, the odd person out, in a place where everyone knew everyone else. 

And then one day, someone in my neighborhood invited me to join her at that church.  She wasn't in my face, she wasn't being pushy, she was simply sharing her faith with me, inviting me to church.  And that was the beginning - that simple invitation completely changed my life.  And here I am 15 years later, preaching to you!  Who knew?!?!

Think of how might you be able to change someone’s life, as my friend and her simple invitation to church changed mine?  Paul Nickerson, who was here just two weeks ago, says that 80% of people go to church the first time because someone they knew invited them.

And so, what image do you need to hear to help you understand Jesus’ call to make disciples? 

Are you in medicine?  The invitation to you is, "Follow me and I will make you a healer of broken spirits." 

Do you surf the internet?  Then it’s “Follow me, and I will make you a search engine for the kingdom.” 

No matter who are or what you do, Jesus extends to us his invitation.  And you know what?  Even if the only thing you ever wanted to be was a Congregationalist, you just might mess up and make a disciple!  Amen.