Meditation for 21 April 2010
From The Rev. Peter A. Munson
Matthew 4:18-25
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. 25And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Following Jesus
Being a Christian is more like playing follow the leader than reciting a pledge of allegiance.
When Americans are surveyed about their religious habits, consistently we hear that over 90% say they believe in God. (To this, James might say, “Big deal! Even demons believe in God.” See James 2:19.) I suppose it might be much more difficult to compile the answers, but a much more interesting combination of questions would be: Do you follow Jesus? What does that look like in your life?
When Simon Peter first encountered Jesus, Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” (Matthew 4:18; Mark 1:17) And after three years of following him around and seeing him heal people (including his own mother-in-law – Mark 1:30-31), teach huge crowds, feed thousands, and hang out with the outcasts… after denying Jesus three times and seeing him crucified, Simon Peter then saw the risen Lord. This particular encounter began (again) with Peter fishing. Then Jesus ate breakfast on the beach with Peter and six others. After breakfast, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him – paralleling the three denials. Each time that Peter answered “yes”, Jesus told him (basically the same thing) each time. “Feed by lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.” Finally, at the end of this encounter with the risen Jesus, Jesus said to Peter two different times, “Follow me.” (John 21:1-22)
So at the beginning of his life with Jesus, and at the end of his life with Jesus, Simon Peter received the same message: “Follow me.”
He did not hear Jesus say:
• Believe a certain thing and you will go to heaven.
• Believe in God, solely as an exercise of your mind, and everything will be okay.
• Quote to others the favorite things that you heard me say.
• Tell others they are going to hell if they don’t believe in me.
• Hate others in my name.
He didn’t even hear Jesus say, “Worship me.”
What he did hear him say, quite clearly, was “follow me.” And “follow me” meant to love others as Jesus had loved him. “Follow me” meant feeding Jesus’ lambs and tending Jesus’ sheep. It meant loving everyone that he encountered, in Jesus’ name. Following Jesus, Peter knew, even meant loving his enemies.
It is no accident that, after we recite what we believe about God in the first part of the Baptismal Covenant (the Apostles’ Creed), we then recommit ourselves to living out the Christian life. In other words, the Christian life is about more than what we say we believe. (You might say the believing-in-God part is only the very beginning.) And it’s no accident that two of the five questions we are asked, right after we recite the Apostles’ Creed, are: Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being? (The Book of Common Prayer, pp. 304-305) These are “following Jesus” questions. These are questions that reflect the essence of the gospel: we are called to love others as Jesus loves us.
It is not easy to follow Jesus. It is a lot easier to get distracted with acquiring things. It is a lot easier to read good books and isolate ourselves. It is a lot easier to think about where we want to go on our next vacation. It is a lot easier to say, “I believe in God”, and then just sort of shut our eyes and shut our hearts and go on with our lives.
But to follow Jesus and love others in His name is our highest calling. And we can do it, as the Prayer Book says, “with God’s help.” (The Book of Common Prayer, pp. 304-305)
Ultimately, this is the gospel and the path to new and abundant life.
It’s hard to tabulate who is following Jesus in a national survey. My guess is, though, you know when you’ve been on the receiving end of things when someone is following Jesus.