"They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed." Andrew and Peter; James and John – the first disciples of Jesus are called in quite a dramatic scene. They are plying their trade, working in the family business and all of the sudden they are out of there … leaving equipment and family. They trade in fishing for the local economy for participating in the work of God – finding people instead of fish. Theirs is a very subversive act. Fishing in the time of Jesus was nothing like the idyllic scenes we sometimes paint of fishing. Often when I picture fishing, I see solitary souls on the beach and jetties relaxing their day away, watching the waves roll in gently. But fishing for those first four disciples was nothing like that scene. It may have had its moments, but more often than not it was life and death work. I had a chance to wander the streets of Gloucester, Massachusetts this past summer; seeing the New England fishing industry at work. Fishing in the day of Jesus was probably more like the reality of this town, where fishing is a tough business to be in … and those who fish and their families are hardened by the work, the weather and the pressures of the economy. The fishing industry is regulated, you are not "your own boss," you are dependent on the big contractors, and the work is downright dangerous. Year after year, fishing ranks among the most hazardous of jobs. (link) To get this picture of fishing is to know what those first disciples of Jesus were about. The Sea of Galilee was central to the fishing industry of their time. Fishermen formed family guilds and if there weren't enough people in their family, they hired out. It was a rough business – you were far from your own boss. Those who fished were at the bottom of the economic system. There was equipment to be maintained, taxes to be paid on numerous levels, fishing police that monitored your actions. It was dangerous – the Sea of Galilee could go from placid calm to seven foot waves in the blink of an eye. (link) To fish for a living was to be among the oppressed of society. For these four disciples it was Herod who extracted every ounce possible from them. The nets of their livelihood were a symbol of their ensnarement

You begin to understand the immediacy of their action! It is no cushy life they are turning away from. The four had surely heard of Jesus before this moment. His fame was spreading through the region as he preached change and release. Now here he is, offering them a chance to participate in his movement. And so they went, immediately turning in their nets and fishing poles for a different kind of fishing. Theirs is a very subversive act – it says to Herod they would no longer participate in his repressive systems, that they would be a part of the rebellion against Roman rule. They were now officially part of the Jesus movement.

The words of this scripture text are time worn for us – we celebrate the call of these first disciples in story and song; we lift them up as our example in life. As they were called by Jesus, so we too are called. Just as with anything that is well-known, this text can become so familiar we no longer notice what it is asking of us. It runs the risk of becoming irrelevant in that we have no expectations of being touched and changed by its words.

Our challenge this morning as we hear this text is to get past their familiarity and know the challenge this story brings to us. On the surface we see the concrete details of four men leaving the livelihood that just barely supports their families, wondering how they could do such a thing without making all the proper arrangements. But just beneath the surface details of the story is our story – the reality that forms us as the disciples of Christ. This is not simply the description of how the first disciples were called. Again, it is our story about how God comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ and says "Follow me." It is about the urgency of being Christ's disciples. It is about change and healing and freedom.

Remember that the call of Jesus is given in the context of John the Baptist's call of change and repentance. The text reminds us of that, Jesus is continuing the work of his cousin, using the same words: "repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." The call Jesus issues is not about escape, but about being freed. Again, the nets of the disciples' trade had become a symbol of all that trapped them and kept them down. Jesus called them to freedom.

This is a "dangerous" story if we let it be formational for us. I am reminded of the discussion about Aslan the Lion in C.S. Lewis' Narnia Chronicles. Aslan is seen in the stories as the symbol of Christ. "Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion." "That you will, dearie, and no mistake." said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly." "Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy. "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." (C.S. Lewis; "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." pages 79-80) Meeting Jesus is the same. We are called to let go of all that ensnares us, destroys life, and holds us back. It is not a safe encounter by any stretch of the imagination. For the disciples their encounter means walking right into danger – they begin participating in a movement to overthrow Roman rule. For us it is the same – we may be called very publicly to work against systemic oppression or we may quietly be working behind the scenes to create real, life giving change. In the midst of that we are called.

The call of Jesus to follow is the call to the freedom of a life lived wholly in the love and will of God. It is to cut the nets of that which binds you to evil and sin and oppression. It is not a call to a "safe" life – where nothing ever goes wrong again. It is rather to know that those things hold no power against the saving love of God. May this text become more than the story of Peter and Andrew; and James and John being called by Jesus. May it become for you a formational story of your faith – a story that calls you to step from the nets that ensnare you to a life lived in the freeing power of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.