While all sorts of folks get interested in the fishing imagery, I have been nudged to simply look at the call “follow me.”
What is contained in this call to follow? Where will Jesus lead you?
I saw an interesting article that suggests that Jesus is not making a polite request for one to consider following him. . . "'Follow Me'" The Imperious Call of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels” by F. Scott Spencer, a NT prof at Baptist Th. Sem. in Richmond. [I looked up imperious, "assuming power or authority without justification. arrogant or domineering" - interesting word choice] He opens with a reference to the song “I have decided to follow Jesus” and does a nice riff from there to suggest that the Jesus we actually encounter is no Mr. Rogers.
[Jesus] insists that they follow him on his own terms — period. Jesus does not negotiate with disciples. He does not force anyone to follow, but those who do follow fall under the force of his call and agenda. Bluntly put, it is his way or the highway.
Such a pushy, peremptory Jesus is scarcely in vogue today. . . . . . . The rule that Jesus promotes, while as totalitarian in scope as anything Caesar might imagine, runs directly counter to the tyrannical character of Caesar's regime. Jesus advances the basileia ton theou, the just and merciful empire of Israel's God, before whom no other gods or kings, deities or powers, are worthy of honor.
In conversing with Pay No Toll, he mentioned the Quo Vadis, and this caused me to take a peek at this reflection in The Cross in Our Context
for a reminder:
Peter is in the act of fleeing Rome, where many Christians are undergoing terrible persecutions under Nero. As he is rushing along the Appian Way, he is apprehended by a vision of Jesus, heading in the opposite direction. "Quo vadis, Domine?" Peter asks him. "Where are you going, Lord?" And the vision answers “Into Rome, to be crucified again.” Then Peter, once more humbled by truth, turns around and returns into the city, where, legend tells us, Peter was martyred, crucified, head down.
Hall offers this reflection:
“What informs this legend. . . is a remarkable sense of the world-orientation of this faith. It is not the SUFFERING of [Peter] that is held up here as the goal we should all emulate, but the indelible connectedness of this faith with responsibility in and for the city of earth - civitas terrena - God’s world. The risen Christ, in his eternal reign as in his historical sojourn, is always going toward this world, the world's rejection not withstanding, and discipleship, when it is authentically so, is always a matter of being taken up into this world-directedness, despite one’s own preference for security and peace.” pg 54
One more line from DJ - this is a bit out of context, but a rich line none the less: he says that God is one - “who will be loved only as one who loves the world. (John 3:16)” pg. 55
Let me suggest that we are called to follow Jesus, not as an idea, nor even as God incarnate. We are called to follow this one who - as God incarnate - ventures to the cross, who loves the least and the lost and expects his followers to do the same.
4 comments:
Fishing I like- blogging, no!Here's some "rambelalia" Did you hear about the high school student that was filling out the college question. When asked, "Are you a leader, she was brutally honest and answered, NO! She thought she would never hear back from the college- but she did - They said, "We've reviewed the new application and found out there will be 1452 new leaders next year at school. We have accepted your application because we felt it was imperative that they have at least one follower! ...a man brought a sign and put it on his office door- the sign read "I'm the boss. The next day he came to work and found a sticky note on his sign "Your wife called. She wants her sign back!" There's so many books on leadership, few on "followership" I went to a "play and fish" day with one of our youth. One of our youth has done alot of fishing- he said, "I'll guarantee you'll catch fish. He was right- he knew the right bait to use- the depth -where to fish- I just had to hold the pole and follow his advice.(and caught two fish! I fish therefore I am!") Jesus creates what he demands- I will MAKE you fishers of men! All along we thought we were doing the choosing , where in fact we were caught. "the abandoned nets of Peter and Andrew are eloquent symbols of the intrusiveness of the call to discipleship!"The call to follow begins not with what what Jesus does best, but what we do best- follow me farmers, and I will make you farm for people, follow me builders, and I will make you builders of God's house.
PS Don't eat the bait!
Pastors, follow me and I will make you like dogs at a whistlers convention.
Thanks Joash
PB what the heck?
J - that line, "The call to follow begins not with what what Jesus does best, but what we do best..." has a ring of truth to it. But then again, there is another way to look at it - - - - - >
The call "Follow me" begins with Jesus' command "follow" - and leads to us killing him. It begins with Jesus calling us - not for what we do best, but calling out our best selves, which is the self put to death on the cross and raised to new life in Jesus Christ.
There might be homiletical possibilities in both tracks I know, but I like mine best. . .
(borrowed from a sermon by some guy named Currie. I'll send you a copy if you'd like.)
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