The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Free Spirits
Psalm 62:6-14
Mark 1:14-20

Last week the Old Testament reading included a call story—the story of God’s call to Samuel. God called Samuel my name to a life of prophetic proclamation. Today, particularly in the Gospel reading, we hear some more call stories. Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, James and John to follow him. And they do.

These are familiar stories. Simon and Andrew, James and John, fishing on the Sea of Gallilee. Familiar as these stories are, they have always gnawed at me. There had to have been more going on, of course, than Mark’s bare-boned telling of the story. But it seems so incredible that they would respond so quickly and radically. Some stranger walks by and says, “follow me.” And immediately they do without any apparent reservation.

Jesus was a stranger to them!

Remember we’re still in the first chapter of Mark. Years before Peter would recognize and confess Jesus as the Messiah. We have no evidence that Simon, Andrew, James or John had any idea who called to them. I’ve often imagined that there had to be something irresistibly compelling about Jesus. But the Gospel writers don’t mention anything special. Mark tells us only that he was preaching repentance. A stranger strolls passed preaching a call to repentance. I would find that pretty easy to resist.

Or maybe word had spread throughout Galilee… Maybe Jesus’ reputation had preceded him and they had heard of his grace a power. Maybe. Although again we have no evidence. All we know is that out of the blue Jesus said “follow me” and they did. It’s incredible.

They left everything behind… family, the social network of the village, their place in the community, their only means of supporting themselves, their whole identities, really. It’s hard to believe. In that context how could Jesus possibly have presented an attractive option? How could following Jesus have appeared as the preferred path?

Now I can imagine some other settings where following Jesus would definitely seem like an attractive choice. It would be one thing if Jesus showed up in the middle of a difficult history test and said, “Oh, let’s blow off the test. Follow me.” That would be tempting. Or if Jesus showed up when you were in the middle of working on your income taxes and said “Put those aside and follow me.” Or if he showed up in the midst of a deadly office Christmas party and said, “Let’s skip this joint and go have some fun.”

If Jesus came offering a means of escape, an opportunity to flee life’s unpleasant burdens. Then the call to follow might sound pretty good.

In a way, that’s exactly what Jesus offers. Freedom.

Jesus calls us to be free spirits. Literally. He does offer us freedom. Escape.

One way to think of Jesus’ call to us is as an invitation to become free spirits. Come, be free spirits. Literally.

Writing about this passage in Mark, William Loader writes “the calling of James and John and Simon and Andrew…function as a protest… against societal structures which simply perpetuate the past and trap people into the service of the status quo and its gods.” False gods imposed by society, or family, or peer groups trap us. We are trapped in the service of false gods.

Jesus says, let’s run away and be free spirits.

Ask yourself: Do you let society or even family determine which gods you worship? False gods like social standing or conformity. Material success. The false god of family reputation or even tradition. The false gods of physical strength or beauty. Do you feel forced to give yourself to the worship of these gods? Or maybe others?

Jesus offers an escape. Freedom. Lose yourself in love and worship of the one true God. For God alone my soul waits, as the psalmist sings.

Come, be a free spirit, Jesus says.

Maybe there’s a small voice in the back of your head saying, “I can’t become a free spirit. That would be irresponsible!” We can’t just abandon the people who depend upon us. It is our responsibility to maintain an ordered society. Surely Jesus doesn’t intend for us to thumb our noses at all responsibility and run off to be free spirited hippies.

I could point out that actually that is pretty much what the disciples did. But I would agree that following Jesus does not imply a selfish indifference to the care of others. Free spirited does not mean self-centered or indifferent to God’s children or God’s creation.

But becoming a free spirit does offer us freedom from the imposed worship of false gods. There is a difference, for example, between a parent who cherishes a child as a gift from God and would do absolutely anything to help that child flourish in the love and wonder of God. In contrast to the parent who worships the competitive gods of family reputation or financial success and maybe even with good intentions forces a child to worship those gods, too.

Remember, Zebedee let his sons go.

Ask yourselves which gods you worship, which gods you really give yourself to. And do you feel bound, or trapped? If you feel bound or trapped, look deeply within and ask why-- false gods bind and trap. False gods bind and trap us in their service. Jesus does not.

Jesus says, hey! I can set your spirit free. That’s a pretty attractive offer any time and place. I will set your spirit free. Come, follow me.