I have a truth for you this morning. It is a truth of which you might not be fully convinced, but that does not mean that it is any less true.
Christ has set you free.
I know, I know…sometimes we feel anything but free in life. Situations seem to dictate our decisions. Health concerns limit us in ways we wish they would not. The world is does not seem to be on our side. Sometimes we do not feel very free.
I know of a young woman who had a vision for her future that excited her and provided her with endless joy just thinking about it. It was a career in the military, serving in the medical field.
As honorable of an ambition as that seems to many of us, she suffered from an intense feeling of entrapment caused by her parents. They told her point blank that they would never support her serving in the military. They threatened to withdraw money from her medical education. They told her she would have to find someplace else to visit during holidays.
They sound like terrible parents, but that would not be the whole truth. These parents were extremely concerned for their lovely little girl, and they were willing to use any and every leverage they had to keep the young woman safe from harm. But, the young woman felt trapped, never feeling truly free to be the person that God created her to be.
To those of us who feel trapped; trapped in our situations, trapped by our own vices, trapped by things out of our power to control, Jesus preaches a sermon to us. In fact, this sermon consists of Jesus’ first words in the gospel of Mark; important words. First words are always important. They serve as a mission statement. First words serve as a key to unlocking everything else that follows. And, Jesus desperately wants a trapped world to hear that “the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
You, who are trapped by circumstance, “the kingdom of God,” the time when God will take charge of the world, is almost here. Repent. In ancient Greek that means, “Change your minds.” Change your focus in life and shift your focus to trusting in the good news of Jesus. Cling to the saving news of Jesus Christ who sets us free.
Do you remember what the last day of school felt like? Do you remember the sort of freedom that you felt when you stepped off of the school bus and knew that you would not have to go back for months? I would run across the yard, shouting at the top of my lungs. I would throw my backpack on the floor of my bedroom, flop on my bed, and just revel in the fact that I could let go of the concerns of school and focus on something else for a change.
Christ hopes that we can enjoy that sort of freedom. Not that school is bad, I am not saying that at all; but Jesus wants us to experience that feeling of letting go of one thing and being free to fully invest in another.
Repent. Jesus encourages us. In other words, change your focus in life. Put your trust in the saving news of Jesus Christ, and invest your life in Christ’s saving work. In the church we say that we are set free by Jesus Christ to be the people that God created us to be.
Those are not just nice words. Living a life of freedom in Jesus Christ quite often means that we will have to leave something behind; even something that we love; maybe, even someone we love.
Look at the first two disciples: Simon, and Andrew. When Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people,” the scriptures say that they “immediately they left their nets and followed him. In other words, they left what was familiar and comfortable for something that was likely outside of their comfort zone. But, they were compelled by Jesus to do it anyway. There was something about Jesus and his ministry of freedom that drew them to follow.
James, and John were called by Jesus in much the same way; but did you notice that the scriptures preach that not only did James and John leave their nets to follow Jesus, they also left their father to pursue this ministry of freedom? One could even propose that they were set free from their father in order to truly follow something and someone much more important.
I do not preach this lightly. Remember, that in the ancient world, fathers were everything. Anything good that a family member did out in the community primarily reflected well on the father of the family. You did well in school? Everyone would look at what a wonderful father you had who was able to raise such a learned child. Conversely, something bad committed by a child did not reflect badly on the child, but rather reflected badly on the Father. Fathers are supposed to rear good children after-all.
As I said, the Father was everything in the ancient world, so it is not insignificant that James and John left their nets and left their father. Rather, it is a huge thing.
Being set free in Jesus Christ sometimes means that you leave something or someone behind.
Now, this makes a lot of sense when that something that is being left behind is destructive to yourself or to others. Plenty of people have left behind their drugs or alcohol. They have thrown those things to the ground as if they were torn, useless fishing nets. They then change their focus in life, and instead focused on the saving news of Jesus Christ. But, what if that something or someone that you need to leave is something or someone you love?
When entering High School I had to choose between singing in the choir and playing my French horn in the band. It was a hard choice, but sometimes to excel in one thing you have to leave something you love in order to focus on that one thing. Therefore, I do not currently own a French Horn.
But, that is trivial compared to when the young woman chose to leave her family, and leave behind their wishes for her life. She entered into the military in order to do what she knew she was created by God to do; to heal the desperately wounded and to sit peacefully with the dying in the fields of war.
She wanted to join Jesus as a light in a dark place. She wanted to join Jesus in his ministry of healing. She was set free by Jesus, but it meant leaving behind some people she loved: her parents.
Now, her parents did eventually except her calling from God and did not pull away from her forever, but that is what Jesus healed afterward. Jesus reconciled the family after the fact. But, in the moment, the young woman had to leave two people behind, even though they were beloved.
In the same way, Jesus still calls us today. “Follow me” he says to us. “Change your mind.” “Change your focus.” “Leave the old ways behind.”
I wonder what is it that is holding you back? What do you need to leave? What is holding you back from being the disciple that God has made you to be?
Yes, it is hard to let go. Even when it is something destructive like drugs, it is hard to let go. But, if it is something you love, it is so incredibly difficult. But, do not forget that a life of freedom in Christ is so good!
And, the goodness has a lot to do with fishing. Is not fishing always a good thing?
Indeed, in this life of freedom with Jesus Christ, we are called by Jesus to “fish for people.” There is nothing better than to be asked to go fishing. This calling goes much deeper and is so much more life fulfilling than you may think.
“Fishing for people” is so much more than just asking people to come to church. So dig deep in the Bible with me for a second to explore this idea.
If you open your scriptures to the very beginning, the book of Genesis, you will see that from the very beginning water represents chaos and destruction. It reads, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” If you continue to read you will see that very soon God immediately starts to put order to these chaotic waters. Light and life emerge from the chaos and destruction of the waters. When God shapes the chaos, light and life thrives.
Now, you are supposed to have all of this in mind when you think about these waters out of which you are going to fish for people.
People are trapped in all sorts of chaos and destruction in this life. And, when you repent, when you change your mind and start to care about the things that Jesus cares about, like saving the trapped, then you will look into the waters and see your purpose.
You will look into the chaotic waters and see the addicted. You will see the depressed. You will see the unemployed. You will see the hated and forgotten of our culture. You see those who are forced to do the things they know they should not. You will see the sick and the suffering. You will see the hurt children. You will see them all struggling in the waters and love will drive you to fish for them and pull them free.
After-all, it is that sort of love for us that drove Jesus Christ all the way to the cross. Death on a cross is how far Jesus would go for us. Burial in a tomb is how far Jesus would go just so that he could to pull us up from the darkness.
Another way to put it, Jesus is fishing for us and Jesus pulls us from the chaos and destruction of the waters in order to set us free. And, you were created to be a part of that saving work.
Yes, it is true that sometimes following the saving news of Jesus Christ means leaving something behind; even if it is cherished and familiar. Sometimes, following the good news is the hardest thing you will do in your life.
But, I will remind you that you are free. Christ Jesus, through his death on the cross, has made you free to be the person that God has made you to be.
You are free to leave behind all that holds you down. You are free from the burden it poses. You are free to follow Jesus in his ministry of setting creation free.
You are set free so that you can look into the dark waters and see the sick and suffering with love in your eyes. You are free to follow Jesus, reaching down into the waters of chaos and destruction, and pulling on one hand while Jesus pulls on the other those who need to be brought up; those who need a breath of fresh air; those who need to be free.
After-all, freedom is always from something, and it is always to something. Freedom in Christ is allowing yourself to be drawn up by Christ from all that holds you down, and from all that holds you back; and it is freedom to join Jesus in his task of setting the world free from sin, death, and the devil.
You are truly free, O people of God.
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