Scripture: Mark 1:16-19; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 125:1; Psalm 46:1-3; Psalm 46:10 Series: 2021
Part of the ‘One Weird Trick’ series on the life of Jesus, this sermon on Mark 1:16-19 (the call of the first disciples) names the ‘trick’ as ‘drop your nets.’ Drawing on his own story of trading a Supreme Court ambition for ministry after a conversion in Saltillo, Mexico, the preacher argues that laying down our nets means surrendering the identity we thought we needed without losing ourselves. Jesus calls fishermen to become fishers of people, going further into who they already are; God never takes away anything good, only the ‘not loves’ and destructive desires. Using Psalms 27, 125, and especially 46:10 (‘be still’), explained via its Hebrew military root of a sheathed sword, the message reframes stillness as intentionality rather than passivity. The tools of faith such as prayer, worship, service, and community function like fishing nets that make following Jesus sustainable, and the invitation is to be our authentic selves now by letting go and receiving God’s love.
Illustrations: college-station-supreme-court-saltillo-conversion, changing-major-economics-to-english-history, worldly-philosophers-book, handmade-ancient-fishing-nets, cabelas-academy-stores, be-still-sheathed-sword, marketing-feeling-inadequate, catching-fish-bare-hands-bear, casting-new-rod-first-time
September 26
Drop Your Nets
“Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.” Mark 1:16-19 ESV
I grew up in College Station, Texas, back when we had one high school: A&M Consolidated high school, class of 2001. Because there was one high school and it’s a university town, a lot of my friends were fellow professors’ kids. My father was a college professor. Pretty much everyone in my friend group was either a professor’s kid or a lawyer’s kid. My friends went to schools all over the country, like Stanford and Harvard and Yale. And I went to UT with some other friends. That’s where most of the students who didn’t go to A&M went. And so, at UT, I majored in economics. The reason for that was that I had read a book about the history of economics called “the worldly philosophers” and economics seemed like a practical way to study philosophy. My goal in life was to be a justice on the Supreme court and to have an island in the Potomac: my fortress of solitude. The Supreme Court, because that is where the power is held in this country and an island, because I thought islands were cool. The field of Law and Economics was a big trend back then and so I thought the major would help me. That was my goal in going to college and it did not turn out as I had expected. I had these deep ambitions of effecting the world, of transforming things. Then everything changed when I had an encounter with God on a hill outside of Saltillo, Mexico, and after that moment, I no longer had any ambitions to be on the Supreme Court. And yet, instead of getting smaller, I think that that encounter with God made my ambitions grow impossibly vast. Instead of seeking power for myself, for my ideology, I sought the power of God to be a part of transformation in this world. All it took was this one weird trick. My friends, we’re continuing our series on one weird trick on looking at the life of Jesus and holding onto the ways of transformation and simplicity offered to us in the life of Jesus. We started out, a few weeks ago talking about the one weird trick of Come and See, then the one weird trick of, follow me, and today is the one weird trick drop your nets. It seems simple, right? But it represents something deep. Ancient fishing nets were painstakingly handmade. The thread was handmade. It was all by hand. You couldn’t go to Cabbelas or Academy and get some nets. There were also corks and other bouant devices sometimes used, which were hand crafted as well. It may have been a family net. If it was of a particularly high quality, it could last for more than a generation: it was a prized possession,. A net gives you a way to catch fish more than one at a time. And that is a way to feed yourself and feed your family. The net is who you thought you needed to be for yourself and for your family. To lay down your nets is to begin a different kind of life. The one you could have never expected to live. If I don’t do what I always thought I had to do, who am I? This is a jarring notion for anyone.
Psalms
When our expectations and world changes, we can feel unsafe or at risk. The Psalms offer us solace at all times but especially those times.
Like Psalm 27
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 ESV Or Psalm 125
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” Psalm 125:1 ESV
One of my favorite parts of the Bible is Psalm 46
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Psalm 46:1-3 ESV
Verse 10 of this Psalm has the line: be still and know that I am God. I love that line. Be still and know that I am God. being still is so hard today. It’s so hard for me. I’m a doer. Being still seems so unproductive, so inefficient. The root word that we translate as “be still” is a military term in Hebrew. The point is not to stop moving. It’s not an absence of motion. The word is to keep your sword sheathed. It is when someone has their hand on the hilt of their sword, but does not strike. The stillness called for by the Psalmist is not passivity in the face of the world, but intentionality. God is not just saying no to something, but offering the greatest of yeses.
Fishing for more than fish
Jesus asks the disciples to lay down their nets, but he doesn’t ask them to forget who they are. They still remain themselves in following Jesus. In fact, they become more of themselves, not less. There is this great phrase “ Fishers of men” from the King James Version. I love it. But what I think is so important here is that there is a deep connection between what Peter and Andrew and James and John were doing before Jesus came walking along the sea, and then what Jesus has called them to do. There is a similarity between fishing for fish and fishing for people, there is a connection. Jesus isn’t asking them to forget who they are, he is going to offer them a way to go further into who they are. God will never ask you to change something about yourself that is good. I think this is important to say. I’m a preacher who likes to talk about change and transformation and new life and conversion and all these kinds of things. In all of that, God never wants to get rid of any of the good things in your life. The problem we have in this modern world is a confusion internally and externally about what is good for us and what is bad for us. It is a mass marketed confusion about who we think we should be, who society thinks we should be, and who God thinks we should be. A marketing tactic out there is to make you feel inadequate, like you need this thing in your life. If you don’t have this thing or this car or this body, you are not a real man or a real woman. That is a lie. God never wants to take away anything good about our life. God wants to take away the things that are not good. God wants to take away all the not loves in our life. All of the destructive desires in our life. When God asks us to drop our nets, it is so we can actually be ourselves. We don’t need to pretend anymore. When I changed my major from economics to English and history in order to get ready for seminary, that transformation didn’t change fundamentally who I was. What it did was help me to stop lying to myself about what kind of life i thought was a life worth living. I no longer thought that if I were not a Supreme court justice, I would be a failure. In fact, those external markers of validation became, over time, less and less important to me. I’m not perfect. I am still motivated by the expectations of others in some healthy ways, and in some unhealthy ways, and yet what God has done in my own life and what God has done in so many of your lives is to offer us purpose and opportunity to be our own authentic self now. Not in the future, not after we get married, not after we get a job, not after whatever the step is that we think will ultimately lead to validation, but now.
Walking by the seashore
Jesus was walking by the seashore. He came upon Andrew and his brother, Simon. They put down their nets of yarn and picked up the nets of the Holy Spirit. Jesus comes to us in the midst of life and offers us new life. Jesus may be coming to you this day and offer a new life. Just like in fishing, in the life of Christ, there are tools we can use. Sure, you may be able to catch a fish with your hands like a bear, but that will be hard to live on. The tools of faith are prayer and worship, service and mercy, humility and kindness. These are like our fishing nets. We are not saved by them but they are offered freely in the church so that the struggles of following Jesus will not be so great as fishing with just your bare hands. When we first try to pray, it can seem awkward, like casting a new rod for the first time. But with practice, we can enter the rhythm of prayer and the rhythm of the life of God.
Fishing is also often better together. The tools of faith are tools of community. We hold each other up and encourage each other so that the big decisions in life don’t seem as big. God may be calling you to change careers, to move, or to serve a new ministry. Life changes don’t have to be total to be transformative. There is no competition about how much you can give up. God has already said yes to you. It all comes down to the encounter between you and God and how a yes to God can change your life. The first step is, just like the Psalm says, to be still. Hold your sword. So often this day, when we are asked to change, we feel judgment and defensiveness. We want to defend who we have been. We want to defend the decisions we’ve made. Jesus says, be still. Lay down your nets. You are more than what you do. You are more than who you have been. You are more than the mistakes you have made. We can do this one weird trick, lay down your nets. Let go and receive the love of God. Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we try and try to be better but so often we may feel we have fallen short. Let us lay down our nets. Let us lay down our mistakes. Let us lay down our control and receive your freedom. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.