The Call

Following Jesus, for people who don't really know what that means anymore

Matthew 4:18-22

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

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Take a moment to visualize the scene. A salty breeze blows in from the Sea of Galilee. Jesus walks past the docks, hearing the noise of fishermen working their lines, struggling to eke out a living under the burden of Roman taxes.

Jesus watches them hard at work, listens to them cursing and laughing. They are surprised when he walks right up to them, and calls them to follow him. Rabbis were usually sought out by their disciples, not the other way around.

What did Jesus see in them? 

They drop everything!– They “immediately” leave their boats, their nets, and their fathers. They were captivated.

What did they see in Jesus?

Jesus Calling the Disciples by Connie Wendleton

There is no doubt that Jesus was charismatic and that his passion was magnetic. But as a popular Rabbi, Jesus was also extending a high honor to them. Becoming a disciple/apprentice to a Rabbi was highly desirable and competitive. Rabbis of Jesus’ day selected their apprentices from the cream of the crop of religious students, not from the fishing docks. Fishermen were at the bottom of the social ladder. Jesus also had women among his disciples, like Mary. Other Rabbis didn’t dare— women were seen as even more lowly than fishermen! The call to follow Jesus is cast widely, but goes especially to those who are overlooked by society. 

Jesus is defying the “rules” for who counted as spiritual. Jesus says “the kingdom of God is at hand!,” and then He calls a rag-tag group of blue collar disciples to show just what kind of kingdom it is– “a kingdom of nuisances and nobodies!”¹ It was an alternative community from the margins, and it began with calling socially despised fishermen to be honored disciples.

Discipleship is a buzzword in Christianity, and for a good reason. Jesus did not make converts, he called disciples. Before Christianity was called “Christianity” it was simply called “the way.” As in the way of Jesus. In this passage, Jesus says, “follow me” for the first of 22 times. Jesus said “follow me” far more than he said “believe in me.” In fact, I would argue that what it means to believe in Jesus is to follow in the way of Jesus. Jesus never tells any of his disciples to worship him, or accept him into their hearts. He does not give them catechism lessons to learn proper doctrine. He doesn’t help them refine their statement of faith. No, they are called to do the works that he did, and imitate him in the way he lived and loved:  “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.” The way of Jesus is not a system of beliefs, but a way of life. 

So how do we follow Jesus, today?

My dear trans friend recently gave me a rainbow-colored WWJD bracelet. “What Would Jesus Do?” This may seem like a trite youth-group expression, but I think this question can still be a great place to start!

First however, we may need to reclaim it. If you were told that “WWJD” meant saving yourself for marriage, guarding your purity, not drinking, or not hanging out with the wrong kinds of people, then it is time to get reacquainted with Jesus. He spent most of his time with “the wrong kinds of people!” We do not follow Jesus by asking “what does my pastor say Jesus would do?” True spirituality cultivates a relationship with the living Jesus. He calls to each of us, fresh and clear, through the Spirit of love.

When Jesus told the fishermen that from now on, they would “fish for people,” he was not telling them that they needed to get people to convert to a new religion! It is difficult to get those hellfire interpretations out of our heads. Jesus said that his purpose was to bring liberty to the oppressed, and then he brought others along to join him in that collective work of liberation. As the womanist theologian Dr. Emilie Townes puts it, "the goal of our journey is not to create a world where everyone believes alike, but to create a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect." To “fish for people” as a follower of Jesus means that we are at work extending love and liberation, especially to those at the margins. Jesus’ work always started at the margins, because as long as there are people being left out and cast aside, we are not a beloved community.

So “What Would Jesus Do?”

My rainbow colored bracelet makes me think that very probably, Jesus would have a booth at a Pride parade, where he would show unconditional love, especially to those hurt by moralistic religiosity. He would call out to every person, especially those most likely to be overlooked. All who are weary and heavily burdened, anyone feeling crushed under the weight of capitalism, sexism, and homophobia— he would call out with the same compelling voice that called Peter, Andrew and Mary. He would welcome and honor them, and call them to follow him in building a beloved community— of nuisances and nobodies, where the dirty little secret is that nobody is a nuisance. Everybody matters the same as everybody else. In fact, those who are last are first— the shabby fishermen are the apostles of the kingdom!

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Inhale: Jesus sees me where I am (4 seconds)

-HOLD- (4 seconds)

Exhale: Jesus is calling me (4 seconds)

Inhale: I follow Jesus into love (4 seconds)

-HOLD- (4 seconds)

Exhale: I follow Jesus into liberation (4 seconds)

1. John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (San Francisco: HarperOne, 1994), 61.