Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in dogs.
Welcome back to our series,
The Invitations of Jesus.
As always,
I invite you to take a few moments just to become still.
Just to notice the surface of your life as it is today,
Just like you might look at the surface of the water.
Maybe it's a bit choppy.
Maybe your mind's already full of conversations,
Responsibilities,
Hopes and worries.
Maybe the surface is a bit calmer than that.
Whatever it is,
Just notice it and become aware of your breath.
Each one a gift.
Allow yourself to relax.
As you become fully aware of this moment and fully aware of the presence of God in this time with us.
Now in our reflection from yesterday,
We heard Jesus' first invitation in John's Gospel,
Which was,
Come and see.
It was an invitation to curiosity.
To encounter in relationship.
Today we hear another invitation,
One that might be a bit more familiar but one that I think.
.
.
Perhaps even more challenging.
And that's.
.
.
Follow me.
So you can notice the invitation deepening now.
It's no longer just about coming close enough to observe.
This is an invitation to entrust our lives to another.
So let's have a look at Matthew chapter 4.
Versus 18.
It's a 22.
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee,
He saw two brothers,
Simon,
Who is called Peter,
And Andrew,
His brother,
Casting a net into the sea.
For their fishermen.
And he said to them,
Follow me.
And I'll make you fish for people.
Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
As he went from there,
He saw two other brothers,
James,
Son of Zebedee,
And his brother John,
In the boat.
With their father Zebedee.
Mending their nets.
And he called for them.
And immediately they left the boat and their father.
And followed him.
It's easy to romanticize this story,
And I think we've done that a lot in the Christian tradition.
Imagine these fishermen dropping everything without hesitation as though discipleship were effortless,
But Matthew's telling us something much,
Much deeper than a historical sequence of events here.
I think is revealing the nature of every encounter with Christ.
Jesus Walks Into Ordinary Life.
You'll notice he doesn't go into a synagogue here or a palace or a monastery.
He's on a shoreline.
Where fishermen are doing what fishermen do.
Fishing and mending nets.
People are working.
The nets smell of fish,
Hands are rough,
The boat needs repair.
This is ordinary life,
And it's right in the midst of that ordinary life that Jesus calls.
And this,
I think,
Is really important.
Because a lot of us imagine that God waits for us in the,
I don't know,
The extraordinary places.
Or maybe after a time,
Or when life settles down,
When we have more,
When we become more spiritual.
When we know more.
Whatever that happens to be,
But Jesus consistently enters ordinary.
Life.
Jesus calls us in kitchens and classrooms.
In hospitals and boardrooms and cars and walking tracks and family homes.
In fact,
The place where you are today may be the very place where Christ is speaking.
In fact,
It probably is.
Notice too that Jesus doesn't first ask the fishermen about their beliefs.
There's no examination,
No test,
Which is what other rabbis would have done.
He doesn't ask whether they fully understood who he is or how they would carry his teaching forward.
He just says,
Follow me.
In Jesus' world,
Following comes before understanding,
Which is the reverse of rabbis in his day,
And in fact,
The reverse of the way many of us approach faith.
We think,
Once I understand everything,
Once I've got it all figured out.
.
.
Then I'll commit.
Jesus says,
Walk with me.
And in that walking,
Understanding will grow along the way.
And this is how apprenticeship works.
It's how a child learns to ride a bike.
I don't read a book about balance.
The apprentice carpenter learns by working alongside the master,
And likewise discipleships learned by walking alongside the master.
Christ.
We don't have to try and master the information.
But we do have to allow ourselves to be shaped.
By relationship.
And there's another detail that deserves our attention here too.
Matthew says they left their nets.
What were those nets?
There were tools of the trade,
Yeah,
But.
.
.
I think maybe the nets represent something more.
Maybe they represent the things that we rely on.
Maybe the identities.
We cling to,
Maybe the habits that define us.
Or the securities that make us feel safe.
It makes me wonder about the idea that following Jesus always involves release.
Doesn't necessarily mean.
.
.
Abandoning our careers or shirking our responsibilities.
Most disciples continue living in the world but But it does me.
Allowing Christ to redefine who we are.
Our work is no longer our identity.
Our successes are no longer our security,
Our failures.
Are no longer our definition.
Our worth isn't dependent on achievement.
We become people whose deepest identity is found in belonging.
To Christ.
And this is why.
Following Jesus.
Is less about changing locations.
And more about changing orientation.
The early Christians were known as followers of the Way,
And I think that's a beautiful description.
We really need to recapture that.
They weren't the people who possessed all the answers.
They were walking.
Every day they asked,
How do I walk in the way of Christ today?
And the invitation remains the same.
In this conversation,
This meeting,
This disappointment,
This moment of joy,
How do I follow Jesus?
When you think about it.
It means the discipleship.
It's wonderfully ordinary.
It's choosing forgiveness.
When resentment would have been easier.
Listening before speaking.
Serving without seeking recognition,
Being truthful,
Practicing compassion.
Returning to prayer,
Beginning again when we failed,
Over time.
These small choices reshape the heart and we slowly become people who resemble the one that we follow.
I think one of the great insights of the Christian spiritual tradition is that we become like what we constantly give our attention to.
If our attention is continually captured by fear,
We become fearful.
If it's captured by resentment,
We become resentful.
If it's captured by ambition,
Then ambition begins to shape us.
But if our attention returns again and again to Christ.
.
.
Something remarkable happens.
His patience.
Begins to influence ours,
His compassion softens the heart.
His freedom.
Loosens our grip on what we can't control.
He's love.
Becomes our own way of loving.
So follow in Jesus.
Isn't about going somewhere,
It's about becoming someone.
The goal of discipleship.
Is it to know Christ?
Yeah,
But it's to do that by becoming more Christ-like.
And that transformation happens one faithful step at a time.
And it's on.
Just one more quick thing to notice.
Jesus never forces anyone.
To follow Him.
He invites,
Some accept.
But some walk away.
And when they walk away.
There's no coercion because love never coerces.
It always leaves room for freedom.
Which means your response matters.
Every day.
Christ continues to ask,
Will you walk with me?
So just bring your attention back to your breathing.
Feel the support beneath you.
And imagine for a moment standing beside the Sea of Galilee in the cool morning air.
The water laps gently.
Against the shoreline.
The fishing boats are sitting nearby.
Everyone's just beginning another ordinary day and you're with them and Jesus walks towards you.
And again,
He looks at you with complete attention.
He sees you as you truly are,
Loved,
Known,
And loved.
And welcome.
And now hear him speak just two words,
Follow me.
And without rushing to answer,
Just simply notice what you feel when he says those words,
Follow.
Perhaps it's hope or excitement.
Maybe there's some resistance or fear.
Possibly curiosity,
Whatever arises,
Just.
.
.
Allow it to come.
And offer it to Christ.
And now ask yourself,
Jesus,
What are the nets?
That you're inviting me to loosen my grip upon today.
Just listen.
To your heart as you ask yourself this question.
Maybe a word comes or an image.
Maybe there's just silence.
Whatever it is,
Just remain open.
And now imagine taking one step towards Jesus,
Just one.
You don't need to know the whole journey,
Just one.
Fightful Step.
Walk beside Christ.
Notice there's no hurry,
No pressure to perform.
Simply remain close.
Lord Jesus,
You continue to walk through the ordinary places of our lives.
You meet us where we work,
Where we love,
Where we struggle.
Where we hope.
Thank you for calling us by name.
Give us courage to follow you,
Even when.
We can't see the whole path ahead.
Teach us to release.
Whatever prevents us from walking freely with you.
Shape our hearts until your compassion becomes our compassion.
Until your peace becomes our peace and your love becomes our way of living.
May we follow you today one faithful step at a time and may grace,
Peace and love be with us and meet us in that step today,
Tomorrow and every day.
So as you go into your day,
Friend,
Just carry that simple phrase with you,
Follow me.
When you find yourself wondering what to do next,
Just pause for a moment and ask,
If I were walking beside Jesus right now,
What might following him look like in this moment?
And you may be surprised.
How often the answer is both simple.
And deeply life-giving.
So until tomorrow,
May the peace of Christ guide your steps wherever they lead.
Bye for now.
