A TALE OF TWO FISH STORIES
Text: Jonah 3:1- 5, 10
Mark 1:14 – 20
Jonah 3:1-10 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, (2) "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." (3) So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across. (4) Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (5) And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. (10) When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
Mark 1:14-20 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, (15) and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." (16) As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. (17) And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." (18) And immediately they left their nets and followed him. (19) As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. (20) Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him (NRSV).
In 1940 A “dejected and cynical church leader” wanted to move away from everything to escape evolving conflict in Europe. He moved to a place that he thought was most suitable. He thought that the location was remote enough to have all the seclusion that he hoped for. Some of his associates got curious about his place of refuge because in 1942 they quit hearing from him. They figured it out when they looked at his address---it was Guadal Canal. (William P. Barker. ed. Tarbell’s Teacher’s Guide. 87th Annual Volume. September 1991 - August 1992. “Fleeing From God.” Elgin, Illinois: David C. Cook Publishing, 1991, p. 277) . History reminds us that Guadal Canal was one of the hottest battle fields in the Pacific in WWII. What is the point of this story? The point is that we cannot run away from all of our problems or our calling to be God’s people by relocating.
How many times have you ignored a phone call because you saw who was calling on the caller ID? It is even possible to try to avoid when God calls isn’t it? Jonah did. Like Jonah and the disciples, God dispatches us to share the Gospel.
How is Jonah’s story relevant to today’s Gospel Text in Mark 1:14 – 20? By the time Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John to become disciples who would be “fishers of men”, John the Baptizer had already been arrested (Mar1:14). When they answered God’s call on their lives, they became enemies of the “world’s state”! People did not usually challenge evil and the world’s daily practice of business-as-usual.
What do these two stories have in common? The disciples were called to be fishers of people and Jonah got eaten by a fish. Both of these stories have elements of decision, opposition and courage.
DECISION
How do you make decisions at the cross- roads?
1) Cross-roads: For the world that means where two roads intersect. For those who answer God’s call on their lives, it means something different! For those who answer God’s call on their lives it begs the question, “How well do we pick up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Jesus?” How well will we handle the opposition we will encounter?
2) Comfort zones: Do we walk on by on the other side and stay in our comfort zones or do we take risks? One author says it best when he says, “Modern hearers of the Word often hear so much truth with so little change in our lives.” (Christ Tiegreen. Walk With God. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 2004, p. 184). Jesus called His disciples then as now to leave their comfort zones! What are the changes that you need to make to literally leave your comfort zone?
Can growth happen in God’s kingdom if we do not leave our comfort zones?
1) Diligent discipleship: Andrew, Peter James and John responded favorably to their call. Unlike the disciples, Jonah ran the other way!
2) Relocation: Many times in recent years, there used to be a commercial about leaving the United States to move to a “comfort zone” country called Belize. According to wikipedia, the population in Belize is 383,071. Compare that to Richland county’s population of 415,759. Remember the opening story? How well did relocation work for Jonah? How well will it work for us if we refuse to be God’s messengers of the Gospel?
3) Rebellion: Rebellion avoids God’s call, refuses service, dodges sacrifice and slights fidelity while marching to the beat of one’s own drum! Don’t we avoid God’s target audience when we rebel? How can seeds be planted in others or the necessary growth happen in us when we rebel against God’s call on our lives?
4) Repentance: Repentance is a double edged sword! Beyond our confession, repentance and conversion we are called to preach to others the Good News of the Gospel remembering that we ourselves were once lost sinners who are now sinners saved by grace!
OPPOSITION
How do we encounter opposition?
1) Grudge: Now why is that question relevant? Jonah’s story gives us some light here. Jonah had been called by God to go into the land of his enemies. Analogy: It was like asking a Jew to return to Nazi Germany to witness to not just German citizens but also military combatants ---Nazis. That explains why he ran to Joppah to avoid Ninevah. Does our opposition come from without or within or both?
2) Opposition: In following Jesus Christ, we will always find opposition. Jesus does not hide this factor from discipleship. Christians will always have critics because the cross is foolish to the perishing (I Corinthians 1:27). Yet, without our help as God’s disciples our critics will perish. Unlike the disciples, Jonah found that his opposition within was far greater than his opposition from without. God called Jonah to go and witness people who were his enemies.
Is it our mission to rescue the perishing?
1) Naysayers: Like the disciples, we will meet face to face with critics and naysayers who oppose the gospel.
2) Conviction: Like Jonah, we need conviction to get us back on course when we deem others as others as worthy of nothing more God’s wrath. What would happen to us if God gave us what we really deserve?
3) Justice: Should we want justice and wrath for others and mercy only for ourselves?
4) Anger and forgiveness: Jonah got mad because forgave the people of Nineveh had 120 thousand people. In fact Jonah got so mad he asked God to take his life. God gave Jonah an object lesson. God provided a shade tree to help Jonah in his discomfort--- his pouting. The next day God provided a worm to weaken and kill the tree. Jonah took more pity over the tree than the 120 thousand that repented (Jonah 4:11). Has God ever given you an object lesson like that?
COURAGE
Does obedience mean exemption from adversity?
1) Obedience: The disciples (four of them seasoned fisherman) encountered a storm in the sea of Galilee that literally caused them to be shaken (Matthew 8:23 - 27).
2) Life’s stormy seas: They encountered a storm not because they disobeyed. Jesus had told them to get in the boat that came in the path of that storm. Jesus calmed the storm. Paul also had his stormy moments on both sea and land because he did what God sent him to do as a missionary to the gentiles.
3) Disobedience: Of course there is also Jonah, who encountered his storm because of his disobedience (Jonah 1:1 - 12). It should not surprise us that God is always with us because Jesus is our Emmanuel (Matthew 1:23) our God with us who came to save us.
It takes courage to face opposition.
1) Urgency: It has been said that “Mark begins like an alarm clock, persistently declaring the time and demanding some response.” (David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor. eds. Feasting On The Word. Ted A. Smith, “Homiletical Perspective”. Louisville: Westminster: John Knox Press, 2008, p. 285).
2) Response: Our response determines both our course and our courage. As someone else put it, “Christianity is always both now and for the long haul; both a moment and a lifetime”. (David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor. eds. Feasting On The Word. Elton W. Brown, “Pastoral Perspective”. Louisville: Westminster: John Knox Press, 2008, p. 286). It is easy to serve God when there is little or no opposition, it seems. However, history reminds us that the early church grew in spite of its opposition. How does our growth compare with that period in history? How does the church of today lack of growth compared with that period of the early church?
Did Mark’s gospel open on a note of irony in 1:4 -11?
1) Counting the costs: Jesus called these fishermen to become “fishers of men” in the wake of John the Baptist’s arrest. Discipleship always has a cost which should cause us to question what it is that we need to give up to be the “fishers of men today”?
2) Price: In Luke 21:12 Jesus warned us of that we too might face opposition and have to stand before leaders who oppose us. They arrested Jesus for telling the truth that sets people free.
3) Picking up our crosses: Like Jesus, our call to discipleship means that we must pick up our crosses and follow after Him. In the words of C. S. Lewis: “In a civilization like ours, I feel that everyone has to come to terms with the claims of Jesus Christ upon his life, or else be guilty of inattention or of evading the question.” (Wayne Martindale & Jerry Root. Eds. The Quotable Lewis. [C. S. Lewis. God in the Dock, “Cross-Examination, 1963, p. 265)]. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990 , p. 192). Lewis also addressed some theology students and said, “Woe to you if you do not evangelize”. (Wayne Martindale & Jerry Root. Eds. [C. S. Lewis. Christian Reflections, “Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism, 1959, par. 1, p. 152]. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990 , p. 192). Who will we be like the most, Jonah or the fishermen? Again, our response determines both our course and our courage.
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
