Loving God, you call each of us to come and follow, and to share your love with others.  Teach us to listen to your Spirit and discern your call, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

           Discerning God’s call is not necessarily an easy thing to do.  There are questions like, is this actually God’s call, or is it just my imagination?  Then, should we believe that it is God who is calling us, there are the prayers, the conversations, the questioning: “Are you sure about this, God?”  This is especially true when we are being called to do something that is way outside of our comfort zone – like being a pastor, for example.  And today – just like last week – we get to hear some of the possible responses to God’s call.

         Last week, we heard about Samuel, Philip, and Nathanael – all of whom were called into some sort of ministry.  This week, we hear about Jonah and four fishermen.  However, as often happens, we only hear part of the story.  In the gospel of Mark, we get the typical condensed version of events.  And, where Jonah is concerned, we are actually hearing about his second call from God to go and proclaim God’s word in Nineveh.

         I’m curious how many of you have ever read or heard the entire story of Jonah…  Generally speaking, we only hear it in bits and pieces, and perhaps miss how the book of Jonah easily could be made into a comedy.  Jonah, after all, actually tries to run away from God.  This is his initial response to God’s call to go and preach to the people of Nineveh.  Rather than heading towards Nineveh, Jonah goes in the opposite direction and gets on a boat that is headed for Tarshish.  Of course, this is when the whole episode happens with the whale, as Jonah gets tossed overboard, is swallowed by a big fish, and then gets spewed out on dry ground after three days and nights.

         So, here we have an unwilling prophet, who answers God’s call the second time, and preaches to the people of Nineveh that they should repent – and the people actually listen to Jonah’s message, and they repent!  God sees their change of heart, has mercy on them, and relents from punishing the city and all its inhabitants.  And Jonah pouts.

         Perhaps it is important to know that Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire – the enemy of the people of Israel.  Not only that, but these people were Gentiles – not even part of God’s chosen people.  Still, they were not beyond God’s mercy – even though Jonah wished that God would just destroy them already.

         In direct contrast to Jonah, we also hear today about Simon, Andrew, James and John, who immediately leave everything behind in order to follow Jesus.  Once again, The Chosen (which I mentioned last week) provides some of the back story as to what might have happened before this encounter by the Sea of Galilee.  It does seem likely that they knew at least something about Jesus before leaving everything to follow him.  However, in the gospel of Mark, the important thing is that they answered Jesus’ call to come and follow and engage in a different kind of fishing.

         It always seems as though some sort of clarification is needed that, in those days, they used nets for fishing.  We’re not talking about getting people to swallow something hook, line, and sinker.  We’re not talking about tricking people by using the right lure.  Rather, people are to be gathered together (as might happen with a net) and invited to know Jesus and to follow him.  Jesus’ explanation of this in The Chosen is particularly good.  He says, “You gather them in, all different kinds, and I’ll sort them out later.”  Our job is to invite and to gather, and it is Jesus’ job to judge.

         However, there is still the question of discerning God’s call to us here and now – both as individuals and as a congregation.  Generally speaking, we are still called to some of the same things as the people we hear about in the Scriptures.  We are still called to learn from Jesus and to follow him.  We are still called to speak God’s Word and to act with God’s love.  We are still called to love one another as Jesus has first loved us.

         At the same time, God calls individuals into specific types of ministry – both in the church and in the world.  There are volunteer opportunities within the congregation – and also in the wider church.  There are ways to serve God and others through your daily work or vocation. There are ways to serve God and others through volunteering in the community.  Whatever it is that you are called to do at this time, God has given you the gifts and the abilities that are needed.

         Discerning God’s call as a congregation is always a little more complex – although our purpose continues to be to share God’s love with all people.  Along the way, the question is always, which thing do we focus on next that will help us in fulfilling our purpose?  May we continue to pray together, discern together, study together, and be in conversation, as we share God’s love in the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Epiphany 3(B)                                  Mark 1:14-20

January 21, 2024                             Jonah 3:1-5, 10

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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