Dear friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

It is said there are three ways to get something done. 1) Do it yourself, 2) Hire someone else to do it, or 3) Forbid your kids from doing it.  Children have a peculiar way of controlling our lives. Several years ago, a telemarketer phoned and said, “I’d like to talk to the person who makes the final purchasing decisions for your family.”  The woman replied, “I’m sorry.  That person is still at kindergarten and won’t be home for another hour.” Yes, children have a peculiar way of controlling our lives, as well as their own, until they leave home, and at that moment, whether prepared or unprepared, the child goes forth to become the man or the woman God intended them to be.

Jesus himself left home to become the man God had called him to be.  In turn he invited others, Simon, Andrew, James and John, to leave home and to become his disciples. The gospel reading this morning opens with a sweeping announcement.  “Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.  He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea.”

According to tradition, Jesus was thirty years old when he left Nazareth. There he left behind his carpenter’s tools, his home and his friends and family to begin life anew.  For Jesus, it was a pivotal, defining moment. Disaster had finally come upon John the Baptist.  He was arrested and imprisoned by Herod the king.  As for his crime?  The prophet had publicly denounced Herod for seducing his brother’s wife.  At that moment, Jesus knew that his hour had come, and he took up John’s message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. There was a symbolic ending in his leaving home.  It was as if Jesus had to shut the door behind him and he was opening the door before him.

My friends, that is the good news that I would like to share with you this morning. No matter your age, profession or stage in life, our Lord is inviting you to a new beginning as his disciple, but you must be prepared to like the disciples to let something go.

Often in life, new beginnings begin with good endings.  For some young people that moment occurs at graduation- the high school or college graduate closes the door on the past and moves them into the future.  It’s no surprise there is tension when the graduate moves home again.  The doors and expectations are reopened which were presumed shut.  Some how we forget the old adage that, “The smartest advice of raising children is to enjoy them while they’re still on your side.”  Instead, we try raising them up all over again.  It happens again in marriage, when a child is born, when you begin a new job, even when you enter into retirement.

Now you may be wondering, but why is a good ending so important for a new beginning?  Simply said, if you are always clinging to the past and the possibilities of what might have been, you can’t experience the fullness of the new beginning.  It’s true of faith as well. Most Christians want to experience the certainly and fullness of God’s presence in their lives.   They want to do what God desires of them.  They hear Jesus’ invitation to come “follow me,” but it’s hard to let go of what might be and their comfortable patterns and habits.. No doubt, you too want to live a rich, fulfilled and satisfying life.  In your last days, you want friends and family to say you that you lived a good life.  Yes, you want it to be said of you, he fought the good fight, she ran the good race; they completed the tasks God had given them. The difficulty is that we don’t always know what those tasks and challenges are. Even those who are well advanced in their careers and seem confident of God’s purpose, can wonder whether they are doing what God intended them to do. I often hear the question, “Pastor, what does God want me to be doing now?”

My friends, Jesus is calling you to be his disciple- not just a listener or a card carrying member of the church. Regardless of your age, Jesus is inviting anew to do his work in this world, and that may mean letting go of something that has made you comfortable.  Do not be dismayed at such a thought.  Throughout life, as time and commitments change, God is renewing his invitation to you to follow.  God’s call is far more colorful and complicated than a simple diagram.  And don’t assume that all the details of life have been planned out from the beginning and if you simply find that initial direction your life will unfold before you in wonderful order.  We often hover over our youth with the sound advice, “Be careful of your choices.”  As faithful men and women, we fear that we may make a mistake and forever suffer the consequences.  But let me assure you, making mistakes about God’s purpose for your life is never condemned in scripture.  What is condemned is never leaving home, never taking a risk, and ultimately, never letting go.

Now, you may be wondering: So why would God call me.  I’m not a fisherman. What gifts or talents do I have to offer?  I imagine God still calls fishermen today, but more likely he is calling people that look a lot like you and me and who hold a variety of professions and vocations. Jesus called the fishermen to become fishers of men, all because they were living in a vibrant fishing community, just as I believe, he calls lawyers to be lawyering lawyers and examples of faith to lawyers, and he calls teachers to be teaching teachers and witnesses of faith to the communities where they live and serve.  It is how Jesus calls each one of us to be his disciples.

You and I can learn much from these first century fishermen, for their lives embody three important qualities that are worth study and embracing for those called to be Jesus’ disciples.. They are patience, persistence and preparedness.

As fishermen, Simon, Andrew, James and John embodied patience. It was the mark of a good fisherman. Night after night these men went to the sea. Night after night they launched their boats and cast their nets.  And many a night they returned empty.  They knew that schools of fish swam deep in the waters of the Galilee, but they also knew that it was necessary to remain patient.  Unlike a shepherd, who simply keeps track of his own sheep, a fisherman is always visiting new water. You cannot track or trail a fish, but you must wait patiently for it to draw near and come to him.  The same quality of patience is true for a Christian disciple.  You cannot pursue a friend or relative who has not heard the good news.  You cannot trail a non-believer until they flee.  But you must patiently wait until the sweetness of the gospel has turned them to you.  You must wait patiently until they are ready to hear and embrace the word of Christ in you. A Christian disciple like a fisherman must be patient.

As fishermen, Simon, Andrew, James and John were driven by persistence.  A fisherman could not rest from his labors.  Night after night, he went out to the sea, and day after day, he returned to land to prepare for the next night. He marked a new course.  He noted the rising of the sun and moon.  He studied the movement of the wind and waves.  No night or day was ever quite the same- for when the hour was near and the fish were swimming, the fisherman needed to be there.  The same quality of persistence is true for you.  A disciple sharing in the gospel, you must always be and persistently thinking and dreaming of new ways “to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.”  You must be persistently striving to find a new believer, and a new way to restore a fallen soul.  I once knew an old pastor who said, “My favorite moment of the week is drying the Sunday dishes and putting them back on the shelf.”  It didn’t matter that they would be dirtied again the following day, but for one brief moment the persistent pastor’s work was done.  A Christian disciple, like a fisherman, must be persistent.

Finally, as fishermen, Simon, Andrew, James and John were always prepared and preparing for the next catch.  A fisherman needed to be prepared for the following night.  He mended his nets before he set out.  He tarred the bottom of the boat before it was launched into the sea.  He readied provisions before the night began.  The same quality of preparedness is true for the Christian.   You cannot meet the aggressors of the Christian faith until you have prepared for the battle yourself.  You cannot provide the answers of scriptures, until you have read the words yourself.  You cannot speak of the power of prayer until you have embraced its strength yourself.  A Christian disciple like a fisherman must be prepared.

The first step of discipleship always involves taking a chance. Regretfully, many today never glimpse nor strive for those wonderful possibilities Christian discipleship. It’s not that they’re afraid of God’s call.  It’s not that they’re afraid of new beginnings.  No, rather, it’s because they are afraid to let go of everything they call their own.  They simply don’t know how to manage a good ending.  Let me assure you, God will never call you to a task he does not believe you are capable of completely successfully.

My friends, God is inviting you even now, regardless of your age, your profession or you stage in life to take a chance and let go – and then he is inviting you to follow.  If you are seeking an adventurous faith, fulfilling life, let the gospel of Jesus Christ empower you to follow him and may his good news set your course.  Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.