Following the Call – 21 January 2018 – Third Sunday after Epiphany/ Lectionary 3

Jonah was called to preach to those he did not think worthy of God's love. It is no wonder he tried to flee, escape God's word. It is a step of faith to respond to Jesus' call and follow as did the disciples. It is another step to become a Jonah, stepping into enemy territory with a message we fear no one will want to hear. But we, the church, are continually called to do the difficult, the seemingly impossible, even the unpleasant. –– Hilda Parks

Mark 1:14-20

Mark has set the stage. John the Baptist has pronounced his prophecies. Jesus has been baptized in the Jordan and has resisted the temptation of Satan in the wilderness. Now, Jesus comes to Galilee proclaiming the Good News of God and calling for repentance. He continues with the calling of the first disciples.

. . .  Jesus calls for a radical reshaping of how one lives in response to the call of Jesus. The scene closes as Zebedee, the father of the newly called James and John, is seen sitting in the boat. –– Eric T. Myers

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

The book of Jonah is about God's persistence. It is about God's call to repentance. But it is also about God's mercy. Jonah knew God was a merciful God, that God both judged and forgave. However, he wasn't completely comfortable with the God who would repent. “God changed his mind” says the tenth verse. What a powerful word. Does it give you hope, or does it make you uncomfortable? God as judge, especially if it's your neighbor who is being judged, is fine. But a God who forgives, that is another matter. –– Hilda Parks

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

There is an eschatological intensity to Paul's statements about the “present form of the world” in 1 Corinthians 7. Most Christians choose to live as if the “appointed time” is a mysterious, distant possibility that does not concern us. And yet, even though we choose to marry and mourn and rejoice and participate in commerce, it is perhaps spiritually appropriate to live as if the “present form of the world is passing away.” All mystical portions of the great spiritual traditions connect with this concept of living as if there is no time, of living as if there is no time to waste.

Annie Dillard, a modern-day mystic, struggles to understand tragedy and God's presence in Holy the Firm (Harper and Row, 1977.) Thinking about a baptism she happened upon while walking near the ocean, she writes: “The surface of things outside the drops has fused. Christ himself and the others, and the brown warm wind, and hair, sky, the beach, the shattered water—all this has fused. It is the one glare of holiness; it is bare and unspeakable. There is no speech or language; there is nothing, no one thing, nor motion, nor time. There is only this everything. There is only this, and its bright and multiple noise…. You must rest now. I cannot rest you. For me there is, I am trying to tell you, no time.” [contributor unfortunately not cited]

Eric T. Myers, a former church musician, is pastor of Frederick Presbyterian Church in Frederick, Maryland, and adjunct professor of worship at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Hilda A. Parks, ordained in the United Methodist Church, also holds a PhD in Liturgical Studies from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey.

Homily Service 40, no. 2 (2006): 39-47.