15th November 2024

Are you familiar with how the gospels skip from one short story to another, often leaving the reader hanging…?

In a recent morning service, the visiting preacher suggested that when we encounter these abrupt changes in narrative we could ask ourselves, “what happened next?” and use our imagination to fill in the gaps.

The lectionary reading for this week is such an example. Mark 1.14-15 introduces the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry as he “came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God”.

Then immediately the scene shifts and Jesus is walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He invites Peter, Andrew, James and John to leave their livelihoods and follow him… and they do! Is this a Jedi mind trick? Has Jesus compelled them to follow him at the sound of his voice? I think not.

I imagine a significant period of time between verses 15 and 16 – weeks, months, perhaps even years. During this time, Jesus travelled throughout the region preaching to those who would listen, teaching in the synagogues, healing the sick, and gradually drawing a crowd. Peter and his companions often returned from a fishing trip and listened to Jesus on the beach as they unloaded the catch and mended their nets. Perhaps Jesus had requisitioned their boat on occasion as a platform from which to speak. Little by little they got to know him, perhaps they were challenged by his teaching, but the time was not yet right.

Then one day Jesus addresses them directly: “’Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him” (v17-18).

Ian Waddington