Last week, we looked at HOW God calls us, how God speaks to us. This Sunday's Gospel takes us right into the WHAT of God's call. What is God saying to us? What is God calling us into? What is this business of discipleship really about?

It is traditional on this third Sunday of Epiphany to hear the story of Jesus' call of his first disciples, beginning with Simon Peter and Andrew, then the brothers, James and John. The version we hear in the Gospel of Mark is direct, stark even. Mark does not mince words: John the Baptist has been arrested. Jesus has come to Galilee preaching that God's kingdom has begun. "Repent and believe in this Good News," he proclaims. And he sees these guys fishing by the lake and commands: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of people." And immediately, it says, they leave their nets and follow him. They get behind him, the Greek text infers. They get behind this new itinerant teacher, preacher, healer. Immediately. I guess, the news sounded just that good to them.

Now, I know that some of you really like to fish. You spend your vacation fishing. You travel long distances to fish in special spots. You find pleasure in tying the flies and going out to some beautiful spot and casting that line and waiting. Waiting for some gorgeous trout or something to take an interest in that fly and bite. I find it hard to understand the appeal of standing a long time or sitting in a boat and waiting for some poor little fish to bite down hard on something it has no business relating to. But, I have an open mind and I take your word for it. You just like fishing. And sometimes you throw them back and sometimes you take 'em home and clean 'em and cook 'em up and have a feast.

But now, in order to really understand Mark's gospel, we've got to realize, first of all, that he's talking about a really different kind of fishing. This is not sport fishing or recreational leisure-time activity. These guys fish for a living. Every day since they were big enough to go out. Their dads probably fished. And their dads' dads. Their brothers and cousins. From excavations around the Sea of Galilee, we know that their boats were fairly large and could hold the crew of five and a ton of fish or more. And all this within the context of Roman occupation. The Galileen fishermen may have owned their own boats, but probably not. Everything was highly taxed. In many places, the Romans had acquired the fishing rights and the fishermen leased areas to fish. There were fish police, game wardens we might euphemistically call them, who patrolled the waters and shoreline for violators.

You see, this was a hard life and a dangerous one. Accidents were common. Storms came up suddenly. No paid vacation. No workers' comp. No double overtime. Just lots of hard work. And fish. And nets.

Fishermen were tough, smelly, strong, rough characters. Far from our image of a compliant, bathrobed disciple. Hey! Peter, Andrew, James, John. I've got some good news for you. Follow me. I'll have you casting your nets to pull out folks who are drowning. The Kingdom of God is near. I'm bringing new life. Life as abundant as the fish in the sea.

What do you think actually transpired there that day on the Sea of Galilee? It was the custom in that day for students to choose their master, their teacher, much as students today choose whom to study with for their Ph.D. work, for example. The teacher/disciple relationship was initiated by the disciple usually and involved primarily sitting, listening, and learning from the words of the master.

We can see that Jesus goes about things very differently. He invites the disciples to affiliate with him and with his message. He initiates the connection. And he invites his disciples not into a passive learning role, but into active participation in the work of the kingdom itself. Follow me, and I will put you in charge of saving lives and creating hope.

We don't know how they knew it was Jesus, or how they knew Jesus was the Messiah. There is no evidence of an earlier meeting with him. We don't know exactly what was going on in their lives such that in that particular moment they were free to respond to his call and immediately leave off their work to go with him.

In fact, the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that this gospel is "ruthlessly silent" at the point of explaining WHY they did what they did. We only have the record of them doing it, of them responding immediately and directly. Says Bonhoeffer, it can only be that they responded because it is Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, who is calling them to fulfill the deepest vocation of their lives.

The authority of the Messiah comes through loud and clear. Because his purpose is our purpose from before we are born, we are free to leave everything and follow him. Jesus came to call us. He demands everything and promises everything. His word is the word of life.

And so, we may not know totally why, but we do get a sense of their readiness, their eagerness, their excitement, their desire, deep in their hearts, to be part of something important, to have their lives count for something, to live for a purpose larger than themselves. They were obviously ready for a deep, radical revamping of priorities and reorientation of commitments. They were ready and open to recognizing God at work in their lives.

It's the same yearning we all feel at times, isn't it, to know that our lives matter, that we're part of something bigger than ourselves, that we're making a contribution to the future. That what we do and how we live makes a difference here and now.

The life of discipleship, the Christian faith, offers a context in which to view our lives and make our vocational choices in the larger context of the kingdom of God. The willingness of those first fishermen to lay down their nets and walk away from the fishing boat reminds us powerfully that we're not just in this life for ourselves, our own personal needs and hopes and dreams. Our lives gain meaning and purpose and energy from our commitments beyond ourselves-our commitments to the service and compassion and the body of Christ, the church. Follow me, says Jesus, and I will give you the most important work there is.

Sometimes in the church, I fear we settle for far less. There's a strong desire around here to grow in size and in mission. The clarion call of today's gospel story powerfully reminds us that people respond passionately when they hear a call to be part of God's work in the world. When they're invited into something vital and life-changing. We should consider this as we work hard to bring more people into the life of the church. Sometimes, I think we aim too low, and play down what's really at stake.

With all due respect, we're not talking about joining a social club here or another good charity, no matter how important it may be. We're called by Jesus to associate ourselves with him and with each other, to join with him in doing what he came to do-to change lives and change the world. We're called to share the good news of life and hope in the real hard places where we live and work. We're called to bring peace and justice to a broken and weary world. People will join us if they sense that the work we're doing here, the time and energy and money we're contributing here, is focused on the most important vocation of all discipleship, that is, becoming who God created us to be and calls us to be in Christ Jesus.

The large stained glass window we gaze at every Sunday is for many a familiar depiction of Jesus knocking at the door. We often think of it as Jesus knocking to come in and be with us. Today, as we hear the call to the first disciples, I invite you to look at it differently. Turn it inside out and switch your perception. See this exchange depicted here as Jesus waiting just outside the door for us, shepherd's crook in hand, knocking for us to open the door and come outside with him, and join him in the work of bringing the kingdom of God to those who have yet to hear its power and truth. Come out, come out, our shepherd is calling. Follow me and I will make you fish for new life. I'll make you part of a wider net, a network of disciples going about the most important work there is.

And then, you see, if you look across this great sanctuary to the window in the balcony, you see the risen Christ, triumphant, crook still in hand, but raised now in praise and exultation. There is the risen Christ going on ahead of us, offering news that is indeed very good. Inviting us still to come and follow. Inviting us still to let ourselves be caught up in a wider net of service. Inviting the whole world into mission and ministry that will change lives and change the world.