Will you come and follow me if I but call your name? 

Will you go where you don't know and never be the same? 

Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known? 

Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

“The Summons” by John Bell of the Iona Community, expresses the challenge and promise found in Matthew 4:12-23. Following his baptism and sojourn in the wilderness, and after the arrest of his cousin John, Jesus withdrew into the region of Galilee to make his home in Capernaum, a sleepy little fishing town by the sea. This base of operations was near Sepphoris, a bustling, sophisticated, commercial city, a seat of Roman imperial power, and thus, a place of economic and political tension.

Jesus’ soon-to-be-proclaimed prophetic message of God’s realm would run counter to the predominant culture of the region and the imperial power that ruled it. According to the Gospel of Matthew, with Jesus’ arrival in Galilee, “those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light dawned” (4.16). Whether they knew it or not, Jesus was about to bring profound upheaval to their world – for both the poor and the rich, the dispossessed and the powerful, the oppressed and the oppressor.

Jesus’ message was nothing short of revolutionary. Matthew’s narrative presents a vivid portrait of Jesus’ vision as a rain shower that would wash away unclean spirits, drown out oppression, open the floodgates of freedom, heal the wounds of oppression, feed the hungry, quench the thirsty, restore sight to the blind, and raise the dead to new life.

The approach of this downpour of God’s grace called for repentance — a complete reorientation of life. Umbrellas would not suffice. Life jackets were in order, and they could be found only on the ship of fools that Jesus was about to commandeer. For those who chose to crew this fishing boat, the ones who would follow as disciples, his vision and ministry would demand an abandonment of everything they held near and dear.

Jesus’ first four disciples--Peter, Andrew, James and John--were commercial fishermen minding their own business when Jesus came along and interrupted their lives.

Think about it. Jesus called four family guys, men with spouses, children, parents, and in-laws who relied on them for their daily bread. Out of the blue, a stranger walked by and summoned them to abandon everything and follow him into the unknown, and they did. They said, “yes.”

They accepted an absurd invitation to walk away from their livelihoods, desert their families, and follow him. They readily joined a new fishing expedition into what, over the course of time, would become a life-consuming adventure on the high seas.

Have you ever wondered what might have caused these ordinary guys living ordinary lives to accept this extraordinary call?

Was it Jesus’ charismatic style? His charm, authority and directness? Were they caught off-guard, saying “yes” without thinking? We all know those moments when we get ourselves into doing something before we even know it’s happening. Or were they bored and looking for a way to escape the dullness of their lives? Perhaps it was the sense of adventure that appealed to them.

Maybe they had to prove something to themselves, and here was the perfect opportunity – a biblical version of Outward Bound or Moby Dick.

Did these first disciples believe they were going on a vacation or adventure for just a few hours, days, or even a couple of weeks? Did they think that then they would return to their homes – back to their ordinary lives?

Did they think they were going to become heroes-- that they would save the world, lead a peasant rebellion, or conquer the Roman army? Maybe they were caught up in the apocalyptic energy of the times and believed that following the stranger would be the way to ensure their salvation and place in heaven.

Or was it something else, something inexplicable that occurred that day on the shores of Galilee? Perhaps, when Jesus looked into their eyes and extended his extraordinary invitation, something incredibly holy pierced their souls and enlivened their spirits in a way that they could not comprehend or resist.

The gospel writer doesn’t tell us what the disciples thought when they first met Jesus. He leaves it up to our imagination.

That makes sense to me.

I believe that God invites each of us to follow in ways that we can understand and hopefully accept. It might take awhile for us to catch on, but God is persistent and is usually able to find that little place in every one of us that won’t allow us to resist.

As I’ve shared so many times, God found me once--on a cold winter day in January--in a McDonald’s on 42nd Street in New York City. I was minding my own business when a voice that was not my own, yet came from inside of me, spoke in words that I could not ignore or negate. The voice called me by name, identified itself as God, confronted me with my own issues and private wounds, contradicted my theology, answered my questions, and called me to ordained ministry.

When I asked why the voice was talking with me, it responded, “Because you’ve been asking for it.” It was true. I had been begging, even challenging, God to be clear with me, to help me sort out my identity and vocation. And here I was – sitting in a McDonald’s in the middle of Manhattan, having a private conversation with an invisible voice.

“If you’re inside of me,” I asked, “then how can you be God?” I’ll never forget the response: “What’s so special about me is that I’m inside of anyone, and everyone, who wants to know me. And, if the world would hear and follow me, my kingdom would come.”

A few days later, one of my professors said that faith is a two-way street: it is both a gift from God and our decision to accept the gift.

I didn’t know if I had talked with God, but in a letter to a friend, I wrote, “If I don’t accept the voice of God on faith now, I don’t think I’ll ever get a more direct message.” I accepted the voice and followed it, becoming part of the great ship of fools. I ran with the dream of God for my life through some three decades of ministry.

When I was diagnosed with FTD, my life was once again turned upside down. After months of coming to terms with it, in what seemed like an eternity to me but a millisecond to God, I heard the voice of God calling me to find the meaning, grace, gifts, and wisdom from a life impacted by dementia and to speak about it from the inside out.

Like Peter, Andrew, James, and John, I was summoned to join a new ship of fools and sail into an uncertain future. And, like the first disciples, I accepted the call and began what has become a challenging but fulfilling itinerant ministry.

I remain convinced that God’s call comes to all of us in such different ways. It is often unexpected and frightening because it demands that we abandon or let go of so much. At the same time, it is hopeful as it often calls us out of darkness into light and out of the shadow of death into new life.

Lately, I’ve been pondering the darkness (and I’m not talking about dementia or the lack of sunlight during winter in the Midwest). I’ve been wondering about our nation’s darkness and our collective shadow of death. I can’t help but ask what God is calling us to abandon. I don’t know for certain, but I believe that God wants and needs us to abandon our old narrative and fashion a new one grounded in justice, love, and mercy for all.

Is this message new? No, the prophets have been saying it for centuries, and Jesus proclaimed it in word and action. Is this work easy? No, but it is life-giving to those who do it. Is this summons to abandon our old ways frightening? Sometimes, but it is also exciting. Is this reorientation of life necessary? You bet.

So, I ask you. Will you abandon whatever is holding you captive in the dark, strap on your life jacket, plunge into the waters of the unknown, and sail on a ship of fools bound for glory? Will you invite others to come along? It promises to be the cruise you’ll never forget.