To the Church in Exile,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today’s meditation is from Tim Stelling:
Good morning! Today’s lectionary reading is from Matthew 4:18-25:
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them,and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
I like familiar. I watch the same kinds of shows. (Action movies/British mysteries.) I buy the same shoes—Merrell Jungle Mocs. They look nice and are incredibly comfortable. I order the same breakfast when eating out: “Two eggs over easy hash browns wheat toast first cup regular refills with decaf water no ice.” It’s familiar. I know it. I like it.
My guess is that most of us embrace the familiar: we have favorite shows, breakfasts, and “go to” apparel. We sit in the same pew every Sunday, we talk to the same people in the Fellowship Hall after worship. We drive the same routes to work and to grocery stores.
Embracing the familiar is not a bad thing. Deeper friendships develop, we fine tune our taste buds, we save on gas, we develop traditions. And, we make fewer decisions in lives that demand constant decisions.
Peter, Andrew, James and John in boats. Fishing. Something familiar. “…at once they left their nets,” “immediately they left the boat.” We don’t know why they reacted “immediately” and “at once.” Maybe they were willing to embrace the unfamiliar. Jesus called four fishermen… to embrace the unfamiliar… they dramatically changed the world…
God may be calling us to embrace the unfamiliar… our world has dramatically changed…
Help us Father to be willing to jump out of our boats, to be willing to leave the familiar, and to bravely and humbly embrace the unfamiliar. Amen.
Peace in Christ,
–Tim
______________________________
Tim Stelling, LUTCF, M.Div. IAR
Facilities Administrator, BPC
timstelling@gmail.com