The overturning love of God
(Free Version)- Year B; Jonah 3:1-5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20
The readings for this Sunday can be found here. Looking to go deeper? Check out our extended notes (12-13 pages every week) via paid subscription here.
This week, our readings once again point to the “Epiphanies,” the revealing of Christ in our world, with specific emphasis on the radical nature of such epiphanies. If Christ has been revealed, everything must change.
In our Old Testament reading (Jonah 3:1-5, 10), we hear how Jonah resisted God’s mercy towards Nineveh, and yet God saved Nineveh. In our New Testament reading (1 Corinthians 7:29-31), we hear that marriage, mourning, and possessions are not the end of the story. And in our gospel reading (Mark 1:14-20), we hear of Jesus’ call to some fishermen, saying that he wants to call them to fish for people.
Many of us would just like to be “normal,” according to the standards of the world: living the normal rhythms of life, pursuing normal aims and goals and also be a Christian. We want to have the American dream, to have a standard or ambitious career trajectory, to raise a family in a standard way. In some ways, we want our faith to be like our car insurance, our gym, or our favorite restaurant. We may be loyal to a specific brand or establishment, but it’s just one part of a multi-part life.
Yet, it is a strange thing, being a Christian. Much like the book of Jonah, the Christian life can feel like a kind of satire. We bring to it all of our assumptions about what it means to be happy, successful, and fulfilled; who is worthy of love. And all along, God turns our expectations upside-down. Being “normal” is not possible if one desires to be a Christian. If we follow Him, Jesus will constantly upend our expectations. We will be constantly surprised.
Paul’s advice in our epistle reading, specifically about marriage, but also about mourning and possessions (1 Corinthians 7:29-31) sounds harsh to us. Yet, it is the challenge to remember that our primary identity is not in the social structures of our world: what our parents or our culture expect of us. Our primary identity is as a Christian, a follower of Jesus—the one who is making all things new. Everything else is secondary. We must keep that end goal in mind.
For those of us who are married, does that mean we embrace a lazy attitude towards our marriage…Sorry honey, I’m a Christ-follower. I can’t really give that much effort to this relationship….Of course not! Unfortunately, countless Christian leaders put their family behind their ministry and, the truth is, there is probably nothing less like the way of Jesus. To give oneself fully to another person is perhaps the most revolutionary thing in our culture, and Paul indicates this elsewhere.
The point here is that the Christian is not to conform herself to a society standard—whether career, marriage, parenting, whatever—when the Christian is called to something deeper. We have a New World on our hands! It is that reordered identity which leads us to be more truly loving—whether we are single or married.
In our gospel reading (Mark 1:14-20), Jesus upends the lives of Simon and his brother, Andrew, and James and his brother, John, calling them to lay fishing aside in order to fish for people. This is because ““The kingdom of God has come near.”
As we listen for God’s voice, we may find that God challenges our identity and vocation in profound ways. It will change the way we see what we do. The Christian teacher may hear God say: “You think you’re teaching math, but follow me, and I’ll make you someone who teaches the Kingdom of God.” The employee who spends their time working with spreadsheets may hear: “You think you are just supposed to sit here all day and work on spreadsheets! I want to show you how to Excel to the glory of God!” (Sorry :)).
This week, we have the opportunity to challenge our congregations as to where they have been lulled into just moving along in the “normal” course of life.
Many of us have primary fears that govern our lives. We may be driven by fear that we will lose security. We want to do what’s safe, what’s prudent. It causes us to seek out only safe neighborhoods, safe opportunities, stable things. There is nothing wrong with stability, but it also can become an idol. We shut out places where God might be leading us to discomfort. Do you see how quickly the disciples laid down their nets to follow Jesus? If this is your basic fear, where are some places that God might be calling you that are causing you to FREAK OUT? Perhaps we are to lean into these places rather than away from them. As the angels often say in scripture: “Do not be afraid.”
Some of us are driven by people-pleasing, or by success or fame. We want to be liked, to be valued. So we move towards opportunities to be praised or celebrated. This can quickly become an idol for us. Perhaps God is leading some of us towards anonymity.
Some of us are afraid of blending in. We want to stand out from the crowd. We want to be special. We see this idol at work among the disciples when they argued over who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Some of us are deeply afraid of our weakness. We do not ever want to be in a place where we are not competent or knowledgable, or where we are dependent on someone else. We “fake it until we make it.” Like the rich young ruler, we want others to say: Look at how smart you are! When Jesus actually says: give it all up and follow me.
Some of us fear loss of control. We are so afraid of being controlled by others or by circumstances that we must always be the one in control. Perhaps God is calling us towards a glorious loss of control! This requires a deep trust.
Whatever our basic fear, God is there with comfort and challenge to that basic fear. He meets that basic fear in a way that nothing in this world can, and yet it is quite different from what we expect or what we think we want. Therein lies the surprise.
Finally, the good news of the kingdom will always lead us outwards to those who think themselves far away. God’s love is so much bigger than we ever could expect. God loves those who are far away, and also in the the place you are in right now., no matter how ordinary or difficult. He is working right there.
We are invited to examine our lives afresh each day. In what ways is the Spirit at work in my life? What are the idols I so quickly cling to? The things I set up that give me a sense of control? A quick way to identify those? How do I define “the good life”?
Just as God transformed Jonah and transformed the Ninevites; just as God radically reoriented the lives and vocations of the fishermen, this is what it means to be a disciple…to be “upended” “transformed” “overturned.”
This also requires a change in who we believe is worthy of God’s love. Is God’s love wide enough to invite those who think or vote differently from you? Is God’s love wide enough to embrace the one who’s hurt you? How about the one who keeps messing up when you have been the responsible one?
May we listen for God’s voice as he tells us to drop our nets. May we seek his overturning, resist the social expectations and political agendas of our world, and to follow him, knowing that in Christ there is a brand new world. May we celebrate and share the wideness of his grace.