A Thought For The Week Of October 12, 2015

"Jesus called out to them, 'Come, follow me! And I will make you fishermen for the souls of men!'" (Mark 1:17, Living Bible) I sometimes wonder: how did Jesus know how to call? I suppose divine guidance and Jesus' own divine nature is the obvious answer, but just from a plain reading of the text I still wonder. What made James and John stand out as those to be the first called by Jesus? Then, my mind jumps forward to our day and situation: what makes any of us stand out as those to be called by Jesus? I can understand the concept that it's pre-destined: that God already knows who God is going to call. That's fine, but since God often works through us, I start to wonder how we know who to call, since there are times when we have to act with discernment to try to tell people that they are called by God to certain types of service. That's not always easy, because my experience has been that - unlike James and John - people today don't always respond with great enthusiasm when told that we perceive God has called them. So, how do people know they're called and how do we know that someone is to be called? The text doesn't give us firm guidance. All we know is that Jesus looked and knew. There were probably others around at the time; surely James and John weren't the only ones there. But somehow Jesus knew. There were no interviews, questionnaires or references required. He just knew. As the body of Christ today, identifying those who are called has become a cumbersome process, but perhaps it should start very simply: we just know, and we go from there. And as the person being called, perhaps the key is to start to trust the community that's calling you. As in many things in today's world, we have individualized the process of call. "I need time to think ... pray ... reflect ... meditate ... ponder ... consult ...," etc. etc. It becomes OUR decision, when in fact the decision about whether we're called has already been made by God. Listening to the community might be the best way to discern our gifts and our calling. James and John didn't take time "to pray about it" to decide if Jesus was right that they were called. They just responded. Maybe we should all try that. And if we did - rather than avoiding God's call on our lives, perhaps we'd have a healthier faith and a healthier church!