Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
As many of you know I am a fencer. Not the kind of fencer that puts up fences around places. The Olympic sport kind with swords and masks and ridiculously short pants paired with long socks.
I was fortunate to be part of a very diverse club. Our coaches were world-class fencers from China. So many different people with many different backgrounds came to learn from them. They were so popular, that I even had people recognize I learned from them when I went to Maryland for college.
One of the people I became close with during my time fencing was a black non- denominational pastor named Sam. He and his son moved to Birmingham a few years or so after I started fencing. Sam did some amazing service, working with young fathers in the area as a mentor and example to them. He also served as president of the Alabama Fencing Division, voted unanimously without even running for the position. Basically, he was one of the kindest men I have ever met.
I think there were a lot of reasons I grew closer to Sam over the years. Some of it had to do with us having very similar fencing styles, albeit he was left handed. And some of it had to do with the fact that he was a pastor and that he did outreach work in the city.
And over one summer, he coached me with my fencing, to the point that on a good day I could beat him. Which is saying a lot since he has placed in the top 3 over several years in his division at Nationals.
But he coached me in my discernment as well. There was one night as we were getting ready to leave that we had a long conversation before going to our cars. He told me about his own journey into ministry. He got to a point, when he was starting out with a new ministry, where he had to make a choice. Pursuing this ministry would mean that he would go into debt financially. He would need help in order to continue serving Our Lord Jesus Christ. And he wasn’t sure he would get it.
So he and his wife took time to reflect on what God was calling them to do. So Sam continued to pursue his ministry, in spite of the risks.
And help did come. It took at least a year, but with help Sam was able to move back to financial security. Although it was a hard journey to get there.
After he told this story to me, Sam said to me that sometimes serving God means giving things up, even just for a time. And he looked at me and asked if it came to it, would I be able to give up fencing, even if just for a short amount of time, if that’s what Jesus required of me.
His words have remained with me over the years. Partly because it was a bit of a prophecy. I have had to give up fencing for some time at various points in my journey coming here to serve with you. The longest one being when I served as an Americorps member shortly after Sam’s words to me.
And it is always hard returning and getting reacquainted with the sport after some time off. I am going through a period of that currently, in fact. I always bounce back, but it is always difficult for a bit.
But sometimes this is what God requires of us. That we shake off what is comfortable, like Sam did with his financial situation. Sometimes it requires making a sacrifice. Sometimes it requires something new, different, and scary. And so we always have a choice. Do we continue with things the way they have been, or do we make the choice to heed God’s call to further and greater service.
We see an example of Jesus calling us to greater and further service today in the Gospel.
In Matthew’s account, we hear about the calling of Peter and some of the other disciples as they fish in the Sea of Galilee.
Now those who have been paying close attention will notice that we had the calling of Peter in the Gospel according to John last week. And it wasn’t while he was fishing, but after his brother Andrew heard about Jesus from John the Baptist.
One way the church has explained this difference over the years is that John’s account gives the first call to ministry and the passage we read in the Gospel according to Matthew this morning shows Peter and Andrew after they have returned home from their ministry with Jesus for a time. And so when Jesus approaches them, he is really calling Peter and Andrew to a further, full-time traveling ministry with Him.
And if we look at this passage this way, then Jesus doesn’t just call us to serve.
Sometimes He calls us to greater service to Him. Sometimes He calls on us to
leave behind our old lives, our old ways, our old activities or jobs even so that
we can dedicate ourselves more fully to Him and to His work in the world.
The amazing thing in the Gospel this morning is that we don’t see a lot of back
and forth or debate from Peter or Andrew. Instead, we hear they lay down their
nets. And they do so immediately.
It’s the kind of faith that comes from having a personal relationship with Jesus.
It’s the kind of faith that knows that what Jesus is asking is both important and
necessary. In our own lives, we sometimes find ourselves at crossroads where God is asking
us to give ourselves more fully to Him. To give ourselves more fully to His
service.
And in those times, we need to ask ourselves, what will our answer to Him be?
Will we say no and walk away? Or will we be like the disciples Peter and
Andrew and set our nets to the side and follow? Will we answer the call of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to put aside what is comfortable, what it is we
know, what gives our lives security and follow Him?
So I ask you all, in our brief moment of reflection, to stop and listen. What is
God saying to you in your heart? What is the next step He wishes for you to take
on your journey?