Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Third Sunday after the Epiphany (B)

January 21, 2024

Text: Mark 1:14-20

            There is the call to discipleship, and then there is the call to be an Apostle.  In the case of our text, the call is extended at one and the same time.  These particular Disciples will be appointed Apostles.  But the two are not the same thing.  All Apostles are Disciples.  But not all Disciples are Apostles.  What is the difference?

            A Disciple is one who submits to, and follows in, the discipline of another… in this case, that of Jesus Christ.  “Follow me,” Jesus says (Mark 1:17; ESV).  All of us here this afternoon, gathered in this place, have heard, and are hearing, the call to be a Disciple of Jesus.  One becomes such a Disciple by Holy Baptism, and by hearing the Lord’s Word with faith.  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (v. 15).  One continues in such discipleship by living in that Baptism; in, and according to, that Word; in the bodily presence of Jesus; in faith, hope, and love; in prayer; in worship; in the Communion of Saints; in self-sacrifice; in obedience; and in faithful suffering under the cross.  If you are a Disciple of Jesus Christ, that means that He is your Master, your Lord.  You are the student, He the Teacher.  You are the sinner who has been saved, He the Savior of sinners.

            An Apostle, though, while himself necessarily a Disciple of Jesus, is also something else.  He is an eyewitness of the Lord’s earthly ministry from His Baptism by St. John in the Jordan, to His Ascension into heaven (Acts 1:21-22); an eyewitness of the Lord’s crucifixion and death for our sins, and of His bodily resurrection from the dead.  And even of all those who meet this criteria, an Apostle must be chosen and called directly by the Lord Jesus, as were the Twelve on the mountain (Luke 6:12-16), Matthias in the Upper Room by lot (Acts 1:26), and Paul on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-19; Gal. 1:1).  Not one of us here this afternoon are Apostles.  We never could be for the simple fact that we were not yet born when our Lord undertook His earthly ministry, so we are not, by definition, eyewitnesses.  But also, such is not our call.  We are given to be Disciples, and that is enough.  The Lord has chosen us and called us through the apostolic ministry of His Church to follow Him.  Let the Apostles be Apostles, and let us simply follow Jesus.

            In any case, we learn a great deal about both discipleship AND apostleship in our Holy Gospel.  Both are initiated by the call of Jesus.  That is to say, we certainly cannot choose to be an Apostle.  But neither can we choose to be a Disciple.  We don’t become a Christian by making our personal decision for Jesus.  If we are to be His Disciple, He must call us, and that call is the means by which He takes possession of us by His Holy Spirit, brings us into the faith, sets us on the path that follows in His train.  The call is His enlivening Word: “All is fulfilled in Me!  The Kingdom of God has arrived in My Flesh!  This is extraordinarily Good News!  Repent, therefore, and believe it!”  It is the Word joined to the water: “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  It is the Word declared to you in His stead by the Lord’s called and ordained servants: “I forgive you all your sins.”  It is the Word inscripurated.  It is the Word preached.  It is the Word confessed by your fellow Christians.  How do you know you are called to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ?  He speaks to you… He calls you… His Word.

            And when He speaks His Word to you, and calls you to follow Him, nothing else matters in comparison.  Jesus comes upon Simon and Andrew, running their business, plying their trade, casting their net into the sea.  “Follow me,” He says to them, and immediately, and unquestioningly, they do just that.  They leave everything.  They leave their business.  They leave their livelihood, the boat, the net, the fish behind.  Not because those things aren’t good, right, and even salutary (it is wonderful to be a fisherman, and even more so to be a Christian fisherman, and we’re all for Christians running businesses), but because, when Jesus calls, everything else takes a backseat.  Same with James and John.  They leave their father, and their boat, and their hired servants, and follow Jesus.  The call is all-consuming.  Most of us are not called to leave all we have and our whole way of life when Jesus calls us to faith.  But what if we were?  Many are.  Think of those Christians who live in places where Christianity is disfavored, or even illegal.  What if we were called to abandon it all?  It’s worth it.  “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:25).

            You do have to give up some things to follow Jesus.  Chief among them, following your own will over against God’s.  Following your heart is incompatible with Christian discipleship.  Being true to yourself is incompatible with Christian discipleship.  Living your truth is incompatible with Christian discipleship.  So also, conforming to the words and ways and prevailing opinions of the world is incompatible with Christian discipleship.  This can be particularly painful, because it may mean rejection on the part of family and friends who don’t understand how you could be so bigoted and hateful that you follow the dictates of an ancient book rather than accepting and affirming all the things you’re supposed to accept and affirm in everyone. 

            And, then again, it may mean your job.  Just ask Barronelle Stutzman, the florist in Washington, who was happy to serve anyone and everyone, but on account of her Christian faith, could not, in good conscience, use her artistic talents to celebrate a same-sex “wedding.”  For years, she was persecuted by the state, sued by the ACLU and the Washington State Attorney General, finally paying out a settlement and retiring from her business just to get out from under the unrelenting oppression.  Then there is Jack Phillips and Masterpiece Cakeshop.  He’s still fighting, and we should pray for him.  Even after a Supreme Court victory, the State of Colorado will not rest until they put him out of business.  We can think of many other examples in our own country.  Further from home, but closer to our ecclesiastical home, Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola and Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen (also a Lutheran), have been prosecuted in their country, in Pohjola’s case for publishing a book written by Räsänen, who is also a medical doctor, about the biblical view of sexuality, and in Räsänen’s case, for writing the book in the first place, and for tweeting a picture of a Bible verse that forbids homosexuality.  Since 2019 they’ve been in court, charged with “war crimes and crimes against humanity” for their speech.  They’ve been exonerated twice, but in Finland, prosecutors can appeal acquittals, so now their case goes to Finland’s Supreme Court, and may go all the way to the European Court of Human Rights, where the consequences will affect religious rights in many nations.  At stake for Pohjola and Räsänen are not just their livelihoods, but their life savings, their freedom (if convicted, they could face prison time), not to mention freedom of speech and religion.  I don’t know how they do it.  It don’t know how they persevere.  Except to say, I do know… It is the work of the Holy Spirit.  The Word of Jesus Christ sustains them. 

            And it is worth it.  Because Christ is their life.  Christ is our life.  The Apostles lost their lives in witness to Jesus Christ.  But still, they live.  Countless Christians have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their freedom, their lives, for Christ, and still, they live.  Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul (Matt. 10:28).  “I count everything as loss,” Paul says, “because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).  Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time… and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).  Why is it worth it?  Because you’re going to lose all of that anyway, in death, if not before.  It all comes with an expiration date.  And anyway, none of it fulfills you ultimately.  Christ fulfills you.  Christ is eternal.  Christ makes you eternal.  And whatever else is fulfilling, in any measure, is only really fulfilling in Christ.

            Of course, as we said, in the case of Simon and Andrew, James and John, the call was not only to be a Disciple, but an Apostle.  You and I are called to discipleship by the preaching of the Apostolic Word, which is the Word of Jesus Christ, summed up by our Lord in our Holy Gospel: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”  Now, Jesus no longer extends calls into Apostleship.  We know from Peter’s speech in Acts 1 that there had to be Twelve Apostles (one for each Tribe of Israel), so when Judas defected and died by his own hand, Matthias was appointed to take his place.  Paul is an outlier, number 13, sent to the Gentiles.  But the number is complete.  We don’t need to replace the Apostles now, as they die, most of them by martyrdom.  Why?  Because they still live.  And they still preach.  In the Holy Scriptures.  And in this way, they are still fishermen… fishers of men! 

            And now our Lord has given the Church the Office of the Holy Ministry.  Pastors are necessarily Disciples of Jesus, but they are also something else.  Called by the Lord indirectly through His Church, ordained into Office, to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments.  Two of us in this assembly are called to that task.  Most of you are not.  There is a certain leaving required here, too.  Leaving home.  Leaving the familiar.  Leaving what is comfortable and secure.  I haven't personally sacrificed all that much, but I have many brothers who have left successful businesses and significant salaries to be preachers at small Churches and paid a pittance.  And many of them have suffered greatly for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel.  Praise God.  It is worth it.  Because, in preaching, the Gospel net is cast, and men are caught and hauled into the Boat of the Holy Christian Church.  They come to faith.  They become Disciples.  They follow Jesus.  All the way to eternal life and salvation.  Pray for pastors, beloved.  Pray for seminarians and support them.  Pray that God would call more men to leave everything and become pastors.  Christian men, consider this yourselves.  Maybe this could be you.  Maybe not, that’s fine.  It’s worth thinking about.

            But whoever you are, rejoice.  The Lord has called you to be His Disciple!  Follow Him.  There is pain, and there are crosses, ahead.  Perhaps even persecution.  But only for a little while.  The Lord will more than compensate you for whatever you leave behind.  And then there is resurrection and everlasting life.  Because Jesus died for you.  He is risen and lives for you.  And where He goes, there you… His Disciple… follow.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.