Scripture: The story of the reluctant prophet Jonah is well known to all. From our childhood, we are drawn to the mystery of the man in the belly of the whale. But when we examine the full account, we learn that it is a story full of surprises; a story depicting God's change and repentance, as well as that of the most unlikely people, leaving the recalcitrant prophet sullen and angry. Hear now a reading from the prophet Jonah, chapter 3, verses 1-5 and verse 10:

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, [2] "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." [3] So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across. [4] Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" [5] And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. . . . [10] When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Think for a moment about how it was that Jesus succeed in attracting his initial twelve followers. If we didn't know much about the account in scripture, we might assume that quite a display was required to convince them to leave their families, their work, their towns. If advertisers spend 1.2 million dollars for 30 seconds of our attention, what might Jesus have done to convince these fishermen to give, not only their attention, but their lives? The answer is simple. He called them to follow. Hear Mark's account of the beginning of Jesus' ministry, as I read from chapter 1, verses 14-20:

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, [15] and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." [16] As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. [17] And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." [18] And immediately they left their nets and followed him. [19] As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. [20] Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

SERMON:

Haven't we all had the experience of being so caught up with the ins and outs of our life that we lose touch with the "big picture?" As true as this is in our families and in our places of work, it is also true in our faith. Today I want to sketch at least a part of that "big picture" by detailing three points. Each of these points focuses on faith development.

Let me introduce the first point with a humorous exchange from the "Doonesbury" comic strip. The minister of the Church of Walden asks two prospective members what they might like to know about his church. "Don't hold back I know it can be difficult to choose a church." The man begins, "Well, what's the basic approach here, Reverend? Is it traditional gospel?" The minister replies, "In a way I like to describe it as 12- Step Christianity. Basically, I believe that we're all recovering sinners. My ministry is about overcoming denial, it's about recommitment, about redemption. It's all in the brochure over there." The woman interrupts, "Wait a minute Sinners? Redemption? Doesn't all that imply . . . Guilt?" The minister responds, "Well, yes, I do rely on the occasional disincentive to keep the flock from going astray. Guilt is part of that!" "I dunno," inserts the man. "There's so much negativity in the world as it is." The wife adds, "That's right. We're looking for a place that's supportive, a place where we can feel good about ourselves. I'm not sure this guilt thing works for us." Glancing at the church brochure, the man reflects, "On the other hand, you do offer racquetball." His wife turns to him and says, "So did the Unitarians, honey. Let's shop some more."

Now there's much food for thought in Gary Trudeau's commentary on the role of church in the lives of some people. What I take from it is that the life of faithfulness is rarely a deliberative process, where you begin with clarity about where you're headed, and you evaluate each step to see if it will advance your goal.

Faithfulness is more like falling in love. Throughout my 13 years as a teacher, I became friends with many young people, who came to me to discuss their first experiences of love. I remember one young man who had made a check-list of all the qualities he would want in an ideal female life-partner. He'd go out on a date or two with this or that woman, and find that she fell short on one or another of the criteria, and then he'd end the relationship. He didn't understand that by reducing the process of identifying a life-partner to a check list, he was missing what is at the core: LOVE. When you fall in love, you don't know what you're getting into. When you take a step in your faith development, it is much the same.

This is my first point. The life of faithfulness is a journey. To be sure, it involves self-examination. But it cannot be reduced to figuring out what you believe. Rather, like a pilgrimage to a place you've heard others speak about, but you've never seen, you take a step. The reason there aren't more pilgrims in this world is that the first few steps in the journey of faith, while they may be exhilarating and exciting, also bring with them anxiety, fear, and reluctance.

Take Jonah, the reluctant prophet. God works in Jonah until it becomes possible for God to work through Jonah to redeem Nineveh. Jonah had no idea what he was getting into when he ran from God. It led to a stormy cruise, a harrowing visit in the belly of a whale, and a powerful and threatening proclamation to a people who were hated for their vile behavior. Finally, at the end of the book of Jonah, we discover that Jonah's journey is only beginning, and while he travelled far, his attitudes remained largely unchanged. Jonah is angry with God for saving the people of Nineveh, and twice wishes that he might die. God attempts to awaken Jonah to the good that he helped accomplish in redeeming Nineveh, but in the end, Jonah doesn't get it, and we hear nothing further about Jonah's faith development.

In contrast to Jonah, whose motivations and inner processes we are told, the Disciples whom Jesus meets along the shore are an enigma. We learn only that their response is immediate. They do not raise any of the expected questions about where they will be headed; how long they will be away; what they should do with their boats and nets and families. They hear the Lord, and begin to move. "Perhaps the opposite of faith is not sin or unbelief, but the simple refusal to get up and move."(1)

This leads to my second point. Discipleship comes at a price. Archaeologists digging at Capernaum have confirmed that the families in the fishing business prospered. We know, for example, that Peter owned a house large enough for his extended family.(2) When the disciples left behind all this, as well as their families, you can be sure that they were fearful and full of questions. But they were in touch with the power of the Almighty, and allowed it to rule their hearts.

Andrew Young, former UN Ambassador and Mayor of Atlanta and a UCC minister as well! once told how his eldest daughter had become active in her local church, and announced to her parents that she was going to serve God by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. . . . in Uganda. Now this was only a few years after Idi Amin had laid the country to waste. Andy Young tried to talk her out of it. "I mean, I wanted her to go to church, to find a nice Christian man to marry, to develop a relationship with God and settle down. But believe me, I didn't have anything like this in mind. I didn't intend for her to go so far with it. I mean Uganda! But she said she felt called. What could I say?"(3)

The price for most disciples is simple. Jesus alerts us to it with the first command of his ministry. "Repent." Repentance is not simply feeling sorry either for the mistakes we've made, or the good actions which we've avoided. To repent is to change one's mind, to change one's attitude toward life, one's way of living, one's purpose for living. We do this because we are promised that we will receive good news. But discipleship comes at a price. Old habits, old attitudes, the life patterns which we live out day after day all this is abandoned, reevaluated, and turned over overhauled by God.

This leads to my third point: Discipleship promises new life. Following Jesus' command to repent is a second, related command. He says, "Believe in the good news." These two commands which are recorded as a general proclamation rather than as a direct address to this or that individual are followed by his first specific comment to a person. He says to Simon and Andrew, "Follow me."

It's so stark and simple. I want to know more. I want to know what prepared them to turn from their lives, their habits, their families, and move out into a life of risk, uncertainty and insecurity. Did they already know Jesus and have reason for confidence in him? Were their nets all ripped, making it a great time for a new start? But Mark doesn't tell us more. And what we are told is enough. In calling them to follow, in promising to make them "fish for people," Jesus offers new life. His simple offer carries with it the power to turn their lives, the world, and all of human history on its head.

Annie Dillard comments on that power in her book Teaching a Stone to Talk. "On the whole," she writes, "I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely evoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may someday awake and take offense."

As I think of faithfulness as a journey, which exacts a price, and promises new life, the haunting words of the poet W. H. Auden come to mind. He is the way. Follow him through the land of unlikeness. You will see rare beasts and have unique adventures. He is the truth. Seek him in the kingdom of anxiety. You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years. He is the life. Love him in the world of the flesh and at your marriage, all its occasions shall dance with joy. That journey, however costly; that adventure, however full of risk, surprise and challenge; promises us the only life worth living. Let us go forward, helping one another to live it together. Amen.

Footnotes:
1. Rev. John Buchanan, "Oh, The Places You Will Go" from the Protestant Hour radio program.
2. See Mark 1: 29-31.
3. Story from a sermon by Martin Copenhaver, Sr. Minister of Wellesley Village Congregational Church.