A Meditation for Tuesday after the First Sunday in Lent
By The Rev. Marcia Allison
Did you notice how quickly time is captured right out of the gate in the first chapter of Mark? Quite a bit has taken place up to today’s reading:
1. The beginning of the gospel has been announced (Mark 1:1).
2. John the Baptist has appeared and has offered a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins to the people (Mark 1:4).
3. Amazingly, Jesus has been baptized by John (Mark 1:9).
4. Jesus has endured 40 days and nights of Satan’s wilderness temptation while being cared for by angels (Mark 1:12).
Then we land in verse 14. After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Jesus is telling them the time has come, time to make a U-turn from your current ways. I found that when Jesus “passed along” the Sea of Galilee and called his first four disciples, it is a bit dramatic in its brevity. Was he just “passing along” by happenstance, or, as I believe, did he know where to find these four men, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, and intentionally seek them out? What is known and important, is the time has come for fishermen to be called by Christ himself to be fishers of men. We get a glimpse in the beginning of John’s Gospel where Jesus encounters two of them (Andrew and Simon) and they spend time together; we can only guess what they talked about so that, when the right moment came, they were ready to answer the call. Even so, it was a dramatic, life-changing decision.
When Jesus calls us, I believe it is with intention, and by name, and in his perfect timing. I’ve often been asked about my call to ordained ministry. My reflection is yes, indeed I heard God’s voice, as a nudge and small whisper in a little church called Zion in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, during the funeral service of my mentor, Judith Kaestner. If you know me, you have heard me often speak fondly about Judy and her impact on my life, enlightening me and launching my teaching of iconography, as well as the significance of the ministry as a clergy spouse. Her mentorship spanned more than the three years we lived in Wisconsin, and I miss her still today. So it comes as no surprise to me that it was at her funeral where the Lord allowed me to clearly hear the call to the diaconate at that specific moment. I also believe, however, that he had been preparing me all along in many ways so that when that brief life-changing moment came along, I too would be ready to answer.
Mark 1:17 states, “‘Come follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’” Becoming a fisher of man meant that Jesus was going to use his disciples to grow the kingdom of God. Besides being a source of nourishment, the fish is a symbol that recurs frequently in the Holy Scriptures. Early Christians used it as a sign of recognition to indicate the Saviour. It is no coincidence that Jesus makes much use of the metaphor of fishing in his discourses. We see the sign of the fish even today on bumper stickers and other spiritual swag that proudly proclaims our Christianity–a symbol of His call in our daily life and witness.
Being righteous men in their faith, the men left their nets and followed Jesus to Capernaum, where they were astonished, along with everyone else, at his authoritative teaching. Along with his teaching, his healing the sick, casting out demons, and directing the winds and waves to behave reveal Jesus’ authority over all things–over all creation. He has authority over all things because he is the creator and sustainer of all things.
We would do well to remember Jesus’ God-given authority and His temptation-tested righteousness when we would (all too often) rather call on Him to make our lives comfortable than listen to Him and follow His directions. Mark's Gospel is a proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God, whose death and resurrection paid the penalty for our sins and achieved victory over Satan, sin, and death. With this joyful announcement comes the call to all believers for faith and cross-bearing discipleship.
The Rev. Marcia Allison lives in Ormond Beach, Florida, and serves St. James’ Episcopal Church as their deacon. Marcia’s ministry focuses as a companion care-grief ministry called Caring Connection and outreach for Family Renew Community, which serves homeless families in Volusia County with a hand up, not a hand out. Her passion and intentional prayer and witness of the gospel is done through iconography. She has been an iconographer for 14 years and shares the gospel through divine image in teaching, commissions, and sharing God’s work through her hand with others. Marcia says, “I want to begin today’s reflection with awe in full disclosure that I find it no accident of being asked to write and share on this particular lesson. It was my turn in the sermon rotation this past month at St. James’ to preach on the Third Sunday after Epiphany. So this lesson from the gospel of Mark was very familiar indeed! God does have a sense of humor, doesn’t He? Getting our attention.” The readings for the preceding devotional may be located here from Forward Movement.
