Jesus calls fishermen to follow him And he will teach them how to fish for people.

Fishing for people has become an image for evangelism. We must understand why
Jesus uses such metaphorical language. Obviously he was speaking to fisherman.
Had he been talking to a carpenter he may have claimed they could build the
Kingdom. A mechanic might be called to go out and repair some souls. When we
catch on to the use of metaphors then we can imagine how we might always be
at tentative to the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus, God's love for us.

A. Always share your faith.
B. Be who you are.
C. See what you have.
D. Do what matters most.

Each and every day we have chances to show the love of God through the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit by simply being the instrument we have been created to be.
Amen.

Jesus comes out from the wilderness after defeating the devil's temptations and begins his ministry. He calls different characters to follow along learning to be his disciples. Today we hear the story of Philip and Nathaniel who were from Bethsaida as was Andrew and Peter. Importantly John reveals Jesus' identity and also his divine power. Philip exclaims we have found the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus from Nazareth. Nathaniel proves his ability to think skeptically by questioning "can anything good come from Nazareth?"

    He follows Philip to Jesus and receives the greatest Epiphany of his entire life. Jesus tells him not only where he was, who he is and reveals his character, but goes on to tell him that he will see greater things, even Heaven open and the Holy Spirit of God descending down upon the Son of Man.

    We too must follow Jesus with the expectation that we will see the Love of God at work in our lives each and everyday.

Mark is an action gospel where a lot happens quickly.  Short, direct, to the point is Mark's style, so we need to buckle our seat belts staying alert to the task at hand.  Last week baby Jesus was being offered up to the Lord by his parents and his identity is recognized by Simeon an Anna who were serving at the Temple.  We determined they were both looking for Jesus.  Yes, the Epiphany season has begun and we all are looking for the Manifestation of Christ, in Jesus, in the world, in others, and especially within ourselves.  Hopefully, between now and Ash Wednesday we will determine where we and others can find Jesus or at least those who are following Christ.

The first Sunday after the Epiphany is today.  (Epiphany is January 6th or the twelfth day of Christmas.)  This is a day we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus.  We find Jesus strolling down into the waters of the Jordan River to be baptized by his cousin John.  During this revelation the heavens are torn apart and Jesus sees the Holy Spirit descending down upon him like a dove as he receives the affirmation of God claiming that "you are my Son and with you I Am well pleased."  Jesus is up and running.  His ministry begins at this point, or does it?   When (not if)) you read verse 12 tells us that the Holy Spirit leads him out into the wilderness to be tempted.  Read on and get the rest of the story.

Baptism for Jesus is the merging of the Old Testament, the baptism of repentance and a ritual washing into a new era (New Testament) where John claims that Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Spirit.  We  have divine event where all three natures of the Trinity are evident during Jesus' baptism.  Jesus walks down in to the waters of the Jordan.  The Holy Spirit descends down upon him.  The voice of God speaks out words of truth revealing his divinity.  Today we also recognize and call for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit during our sacraments.  We have both Baptism and Holy Communion as sacraments where they are a visible and outward sign of the inward and spiritual grace.  Catch that definition of a sacrament.  During Epiphany we learn to look for signs of Chris's presence in and around us.  We love those Jesus Sightings or the Epiphany of Recruitment.  Oh Yes, being the hands and feet of God is such a rewarding way to live.

 

Grace and Peace

Rev. Tac Coley