“Immediately”

Rev. William G. Lamont, Pastor

“As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea - for they were fishermen.  And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’  And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Mark 1:16-18)

“Immediately.”  It’s not that we don’t understand the meaning of the word.  Indeed, we probably understand it better today than they did back then.

I dropped by to visit a parishioner.  He asked me if I want a cup of coffee.  I said:  “Only if it’s made, don’t go to any bother.”  He said:  “No bother, watch this.”  He puts a K-cup into the Keurig coffee machine, pours in a cup of water, pushes down on the handle and presto, hot coffee... immediately. 

Maybe you’ve seen the commercial for AT&T’s new Smartphone – the 4G LTE.  It comes equipped with 4G-network speed so it provides lightning fast downloading of information.  The commercial shows two guys on lawn chairs at a tailgate party.  Someone comes up to them and says, “Did you know that Chapman rolled his ankle?  Done!”  One of the guys in a chair flashes his phone at the guy and says, “That’s so 12 seconds ago.”  The commercial gives immediately a new definition.

My dog is sitting in a chair looking out the front bay window of the house.  It’s her default position in our house.  I go to the closet, take out my coat, and put it on.  She doesn’t move.  I pick up the keys to the car and make my way towards the front door.  She doesn’t move.  Then without even looking her way I say the words:  “You coming?”  And without so much as a moment’s hesitation she’s off the chair and at the front door.  When I open the door, she dashes outside to the car and sits there before I even get the front door closed. Even my dog understands “immediately.”  

It’s not that we don’t understand the word... indeed we do.  So what is the problem?  The problem is that we don’t associate the word immediately with God or the church.  In short, there’s a lack of a sense of urgency when it comes to God.  People are called and the response is: “I don’t do immediately.”   

Case in point:  An announcement is made two weeks in advance that we’re having a congregational supper.  People are asked to sign up in the narthex - no money necessary yet, just sign up.  Karen also sends an e-Lectern around so that people can respond digitally.  Only about 35 people sign up in all.  Belinda figures more than that are going to show up anyway, so she buys enough food to feed 70, but the day of the event more than 90 show up!  Somehow the miracle of loaves and fishes occurs and everyone gets fed...except the committee who cooked the food!  I suppose we should be excited about a full house, but still the question lingers...why don’t people respond when they’re asked?  Experts in the field tell us that so much is happening in people’s lives nowadays that they delay committing to anything in case something better comes along. 

We had good friends in our previous church.  The wife was a member of the church.  Her husband was a fun guy and I got along with him famously but he rarely ever attended church.  I asked his wife why he didn’t come and she said, “Oh, he’s just not a joiner.”  Christ calls us to follow him, to make a decision, to take a stand, to join him in building the kingdom of God, and the response is:  “Sorry but I’m not a joiner.”

How strange today’s passage from Mark’s gospel must sound in the ears of this modern culture.  Mark tells us that job one for Jesus when he begins his ministry is to recruit followers...disciples.  He approaches a couple fishermen who are casting their net into the water along the shores of Galilee.  Jesus says to them, “follow me and I will make you fish for people,” and immediately they leave their nets and follow him.  It says “immediately”!   In case we missed it, Jesus does it again with brothers James and John... and they leave their father to mend the nets himself and off they go...immediately.

Some commentators speculate they must have had an encounter with Jesus prior to this.  These fishermen must have sat at his feet while he taught, or maybe they were moved by his preaching at some point...how else do you explain them turning so quickly from their past life as fishermen to embrace this new life as disciples.

Mark’s gospel does not pause to explain any of this to us.  The ministry of Christ continues at a hectic pace without explanation or comment.  In fact, the word immediately is used a total of 28 times in this gospel!  The ministry of Christ is moving like a greased rollercoaster and if you want to be part of it, you better get on board.  

And that’s an underlying message in Mark: if you want to be part of the kingdom of God, then don’t hesitate, because those who stop to weigh their options, count the cost, wrap up loose ends at home, will miss out.  Now’s the time.  The kingdom of God is an exciting opportunity but it has to be claimed now.  Immediately.

Now, I know for some of you this is a stale-dated message - you learned that lesson last week all on your own.  What happened last week?  Well, as you know our church is planning a mission trip to Birmingham, AL, in February.  Don Kane has been working behind the scenes on this for weeks and last Sunday the date of the trip was finally announced – February 12-18.  It’s going to be a great trip - Birmingham is a wonderful city and the work we’ll be doing there is important – repairing homes damaged by tornadoes.  And Don has already done most of the leg-work to plan this trip and even has much of the money in his budget.  He held an informational meeting last Sunday after worship.

I spoke to one of the guys who attended the informational meeting after service:  I said to him:  “So you’re going on the mission trip, huh?”  He said, “Yea, I made my mind up when we sang the second hymn in church. That clinched it for me.”  I went back and read the words to that song:  The first verse goes like this:

        Would I have answered when you called ‘Come follow, follow me.’

        Would I at once have left behind both work and family?

        Or would the old familiar round have held me by its claim

        And kept the spark within my heart from bursting into flame?

I spoke to another person who was going as well.  I confessed that I really wanted to go on the trip, too, but I have a Session meeting that week and my parents are coming for a visit and, and, and...He said, “Well, I have all those sorts of things dissuading me, too, and this time I just decided not to listen to them.  So I’m going.”

That’s the kind of response Mark is calling his church to embrace...and us, too.  Today we have five new members joining our church.  Jesus called them to follow him and they took the courageous first step of committing their lives to him.  We applaud you for doing just that!  But don’t let it be the last courageous step you ever take.  Listen to his voice and not always to the voices that would dissuade you.  And if you hear the voice of Christ calling you to something, I hope you won’t say, “Well, I’m just new around here, maybe I should sit back and let someone more experienced do that.”  No, when you hear the call to follow, be like Peter and Andrew, and drop everything and follow.  Immediately.  If you do, life will open up to you like a flower.  If you don’t, well, you’ll never know what you missed. Amen.