Hearing and Following

If one is lucky enough to have years mount up, there are things that go. Some tribal peoples purport that one’s keen physical functions and skills are transferred as gifts from the old to the young as the years pass. It seems I have been giving away my hearing as I tack on birthdays. It is harder to hear with precision, especially in my left ear.

If not a mystical gifting to the young, I attribute it to the loud motorcycle I rode as a young man. It was a hopped-up Kawasaki 650. I think the baffle in the modified exhaust pipe was too meager. The bike was fast, and, alas, annoyingly loud. I might also have had ear trauma from a crazy-loud concert at the Lubbock county fair one year. It was indoors, in a cinderblock hall. The arena was too small, and the band was overly proud of their amplification system. I am sure the music was good, but I could not tell from all the noise. Now, one of my frequently used questions is, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

As we listen to the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel this Sunday, we visualize the scene of Jesus walking along the shore of the Galilean Sea and calling out first to one set of brothers, then to the next, proposing they follow him. He would be their teacher, they, his pupils. They hear his call, and they follow. The first pair of fishermen are Simon and Andrew; the second are James and John. Read how it goes:

Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” 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. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.  —Mark 1:14-20

Andrew and Simon, we read, leave their nets at once and follow him. John and James leave their father with the hired men in the boat to follow. First, Jesus nets these four, just like that. We learn Jesus means them to net people for the good news and kingdom of God, once they are taught. Why would they leave what they know and what sustains them, for the unknown? What are your ideas about that? Also important, consider how ready you are to let go of things that you could drop. Think about how ready you are to align yourself with the ways of Christ.

It must be the influence of the season we are in, the Sundays after the Epiphany, but I tend to concentrate on the connection that must have been in play the moment Jesus calls them, the moment they look up and listen to his voice and his request. An “epiphany” is a revealed glory, something special showing. What is it that manifests from Jesus’s call—what is it that moves the fishermen? I am sure their trade was not attractive in any esthetic or romantic way; it was what they knew, and what effectively kept them and their families alive. There had to be some light detectibly shining for them to notice, and come at once.

Hands bleeding again.
No relief in the life of casting nets:
sewing torn strands, pulling oars
cleaning fish, hauling up the anchor.
It has to be done; while I’ve breath
and blood flowing, it has to be done

“What?” Who is this and why is he calling?
What does he mean, “Follow”?
A teacher, yes. What does he teach?
I am bleeding for the fishmonger,
for food and basics.
For what will this one ask me to bleed?

There is the matter of shelter and food,
the matter of family and village;
and what of the synagogue and our local rabbi?
Look, I am standing! And my brother stands too.
See, I drop the nets.
It’s his voice as he calls. I don’t know.
His eyes as he bids, “Come after me.”

It’s odd, but I hear, and I follow.   — DWP+ Jan. 2021