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Third Sunday After the Epiphany Year B Mark: 1:14-20 St. Stephen’s, Lubbock Today’s scripture stories are about call; calls to go to , calls the disciples. Last week we considered Jesus’ call of two disciples, Philip and Nathanael, as told from the of John. I spoke about the invitation to “Follow” and the response of giving witness to our encounter with Jesus. Today we look at the calling of the disciples as told in Mark’s gospel. Two pairs of Simon and Andrew and James and John; all fishermen by trade leave their nets on the seashore and follow Jesus. All Jesus says is “Follow me and I will make you for people.” That is it and they follow. At this point, I want more details – what were they thinking, what about their family responsibilities and who was to carry on with their daily work? And, then I begin to think about what I would do, would I respond with the radical obedience of the first disciples? It is an interesting question, what would we do, however, Barbara Brown Taylor (1999) comments that the emphasis is not on ourselves, but on God. In this Liturgical season of Epiphany, we ask, what does God reveal? God brings fulfillment. Jesus begins his ministry with the announcement, “The time is fulfilled; and the kingdom has come near. There is good news to share. The Greek word used for time is Kairos. Kairos is not chronological time, but God’s reality of fulfillment, the opportune time – the time to repent, the time to hear good news. ’s arrest adds a sense of urgency that Jesus’ ministry must begin without delay. Taylor (1999) says that the call story we have today is a miracle story; it follows the pattern of miracle stories as told in Mark’s Gospel. The pattern is that Jesus acts or speaks, and immediately something happens – people are healed, fed, fisher people become disciples and leave a 2 former life behind. In this case, “Follow me,” Jesus said, and immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Taylor, p. 40). This is not so much a story about the courageous decision the disciples made to follow. Instead, it is a story about God’s Kairos moment, a story of God’s power to act by not only calling us, but forming us as his followers (Taylor, 1999). It is a Kairos moment for Good News, good news that the kingdom has come near. In the past year, the call for reckoning with racial injustice calls us to a Kairos moment; the time is now; a time of fulfillment, a time to stand with those who have faced violence and mistreatment because of the color of their skin. Hank Aaron, as outstanding as he was on the baseball field, was confronted most of his life by hate and threats of violence. He commented in an interview: “I had to have a police escort with me all the time. I was getting threatening letters every single day. All of these things have put a bad taste in my mouth, and it won’t go away. They carved a piece of my heart away.” (Goldstein, 2021) Those are painful words. The violence of bigotry leaves its scars. But today we hear the words of Jesus; this is God’s time; God’s moment to say to you and me, “take a stand against injustice, work for reconciliation.” What does God reveal? God’s steadfast love and mercy are revealed. Look at the story of Jonah. Jonah gets mad at God because God forgives the wicked people of Nineveh because they repent. Unfortunately, Jonah’s judgmental nature and ego prevent him from having a forgiving heart. He is not a perfect example of a , yet God gets his message delivered by using Jonah. God’s bounteous mercy reveals a God who forgives all humanity who repent of their sins and welcomes all who are obedient to him. We celebrate the Light of Epiphany, God with us, who comes to share good news of God’s mercy. 3

Craig Barnes (2017) currently serves as the President of Princeton Theological Seminary. He tells about growing up with a father who was a preacher. His father taught Craig and his older scripture by having them memorize verses. They had all week to memorize the assigned verses. On Saturday evening, they were asked to recite the scripture and if they did not have it memorized they had to leave the table and missed out on dinner. It is not a method that anyone would recommend today. His father would call out a verse, Romans 8:28 and then he and his brother would recite it. Needless to say, Craig said that he learned lots of Bible verses, but he had no interest in what the verses meant. When Craig was a junior in high school, his parents divorced. His mother left for Dallas where she had a sister and his father simply disappeared from the family and his . Craig was left to finish high school and his brother dropped out of college to help the two of them make ends meet. At break, the boys decided to go to Dallas to stay with their mother and aunt over the holidays. They had little money and decided to hitch hike the entire distance from Long Island, NY to Dallas. Craig admits that this was not a smart thing to do, but they saw as the only way to get to Texas. By the end of the first day, they made it to Interstate 81 in Virginia where the snow was beginning to fall. It was late in the day as they stood on the side of the road near the exit that they needed to take. The snow was falling faster and heavier and there were no cars to be seen. It was dark and the two of them were getting worried, but finally a patrol car stopped. The officer informed them that the interstate had been shut down. He told them to stay where they were and he would come back to get them after he took care of an accident a couple of miles up the highway. To pass the time, Craig and his brother began to talk about their situation. Craig said that he felt very disposable 4 to the two people who were supposed to love them the most. The conversation didn’t go anywhere. Finally, his brother said to him, Romans 8: 28: They found themselves reciting Bible verses like they used to do. At one point Craig was reciting verses from 43: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” By the time he had finished reciting those words, he was crying. The meaning hit him full force: Craig says that on that night in the middle of a blizzard, God’s steadfast love spoke to him as it had never done before. It was a turning point, a moment of call; God’s mercy working a miracle. Craig says, “… at the bottom, I found the relentless love of God who was with me and will be no matter how deep the waters.” (p. 31) The stories today are about call. In the miracle of call, God brings fulfillment, mercy and steadfast love. Amen. References Barnes, M. Craig (April 26, 2017). Finding God at the Bottom. The Christian Century. (adapted for the sermon) Goldstein, Richard (January 22, 2021). Hank Aaron, Home Run King Who Defied Racism, Dies at 86. Retrieved at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/sports/baseball/hank-aaron-dead.html Taylor, Barbara Brown (1999). Home By Another Way. Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications. (two key points are based on Taylor’s sermon: emphasis on God; form of a miracle story in Mark’s Gospel)