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SUPERBOWL DISCIPLES Reading: Mark 1:14-20
Preached at Baldwin
Presbyterian Church, February 7th 2010 Today is the day they play the Super bowl. Being an ignorant Englishman,
when I arrived in the USA I wasn't too sure what a Super Bowl was. Since then
I’ve discovered all about super bowls and orange bowls and rose bowls and
peach bowls... even gator bowls. I have discovered that to play you need two 11 man teams on a field 100
yards long and 160 feet wide with lines at 5 yard intervals along the
100-yard axis. I have learnt about touchdowns and touchbacks and end zones
and fumbles. I have learnt the names of some of the teams like the Jets and
the Steelers. To their fans regret neither of them will be taking the field
today… but that doesn’t stop folk having superbowl parties! But am I any nearer putting on the protective gear and getting signed up
for some ludicrous amount of money to play in the NFL? And no matter how much
I learn the ins and outs will it ever capture my affections as much as
traditional British soccer, Cup Final Days and Tranmere Rovers? (An often
struggling First Division British Soccer team). Whilst over the years I’ve been discovering what the game America calls
football is all about, there is one thing that encyclopedias and sports
magazines rarely give an insight into. That is the single mindedness and
dedication of the players themselves. The gamble that they took in deciding
that what they would do with their life was to be a professional football
player, knowing that for everyone that tried there were a hundred more who
didn't quite make the grade and that the chance of it turning out to be a
life long career was highly unlikely. Little is written about the rigorous training routines that dominate
every area of their lives, from their diet to their free time, everything is
geared to turning them into efficient football machines as soon as they hit
the field. Little is said about those who suffer injuries from which they
never properly recover, the impact playing the game has on their physical
well being when later life approaches or even of the peculiar stress that
being in the limelight brings to even the lesser known players. To be a professional is a demanding task. No less demanding is the call
that Jesus offers to Andrew, Simon, James and John when down by the sea. He
calls them to leave where they were and head out into the unknown. Unlike the N.F.L. when it comes to following Jesus there are no league
tables and you are not given the chance to be an amateur or a professional.
When He calls, you either follow or stagnate. His standards are high. It
takes all that you are. So, I've called this message Superbowl Disciples, -
because; you know the dedication and commitment that the coaches and teams
ask of their players? Well, God is also seeking for us to be totally
committed to His service. Our reading from Marks gospel gives us some
pointers as to what true discipleship involves. 1 It involves leaving something behind. In the fisherman's case their
work and home. 2 It involves taking on something new. Their task; become "Fishers
of men". 3 It involves going somewhere else. Jesus called them to follow. 1. LEAVING SOMETHING BEHIND There are two things in life that are a huge influence on everything we
do. They are our work and our family. So influential are they that people
often define our lives according to them. "I know you, you're so and
so’s son who works at the such and such”. The response of the disciples to
the call of Jesus was dramatic. They left their work and they left their
family. They were called to leave the very things that up till then had
molded their identity. God doesn't call us all to physically leave our jobs and our families and
head off somewhere else. Some of us He does, and I wouldn't be here if He
didn't. He does call us all to radically re-focus
and re-orientate our priorities. He tells us that there is more to life and
more to living than work and family commitments. That there needs to be with
us a greater love and a greater ambition than to rise to the top of our
profession or to follow in our mother or father’s footsteps. The word that the bible uses to describe this re-orientation of our
priorities is repentance. Repentance is sometimes interpreted far to narrowly
and seen as just being sorry or showing remorse for some misdemeanor we may
have succumbed to. It's a lot more than that. Its full implication is that of
turning around and heading off in a different direction. If I were on the football field and by some chance had the ball in my
hand, and I was running down the field and suddenly I saw some player of
bison like proportions heading straight at me, then I would make a radical
change to the direction I was going. A number of the youth taking part this morning are going through
Confirmation classes. I heard recently of one small boy who was studying the
Catechism. When it came to the examination time, he was asked, 'What is the
chief end of man?" He replied, "To Worship God and endure Him for ever"! But isn't that the picture some people have of God? They see religion not
as something to be enjoyed but to be endured. They see repentance as the kill
joy experience that follows a good time. Our calling is not to follow John
the Baptist, who came with a harsh and judgmental message. Our task is to
declare, as did Jesus, Repent AND believe. But believe what? Believe in the
Good News; the Gospel; the message of Gods salvation and forgiving love. To declare the mystery of Grace. Grace doesn't give what is deserved.
Grace looks for the spark in the embers. Grace seeks to rebuild what sin has
destroyed. Grace brings re-creative power to bear in hopeless places. The
un-merited, undeserved favor of God. In the words of the book of Hebrews, to
be Superbowl disciples, we have to forget what lies behind us and press on
towards the goal of fuller life in Jesus Christ. Discipleship involves
leaving some things behind. 2. TAKING ON SOMETHING NEW. There was something very unremarkable about the first disciples. If you
were setting out on a mission to change the world, would you choose two sets
of brothers working for the same production firm in your home town? Or would
you want to put together a team of experts? Someone from the Sanhedran who new a bit about theology. A Pharisee,
maybe, who knew his way around the intricacies of Jewish law? Someone with a
bit of finance behind them (Preferably from a well known family; after all
it's not what you know, it's who you know that counts). Then you'd need a
press officer and someone with an interest in security; someone to handle the
finances:- We are talking about a global mission here. This is serious. You
don't just pick any old team if you’re going to win the Superbowl. Flying in the face of worldly convention Jesus picks four local guys and
says, "This will be the winning team". He tells them; "Follow
me and I will make you become fishers of men". The important word there
is "become". It all began right where they were. Jesus doesn't tell them to give up
fishing. He tells them that all the skills that they had accumulated thus far
in their lives, were now to be used for a different and more glorious
purpose. So it is with us. When Jesus calls us, He doesn't tell us to forget
about our past. He doesn't tell us that all we have so far experienced in
life has been a waste of time. He doesn't belittle our accomplishments or
negate our personalities. The greatest resources that God can use are the ones He has already
provided us with. He takes fishermen and teaches them to become fishers of
men. He can take our lives and use them to touch others lives with His love.
To be a disciple is to take all that God has given us and use it for
something new. 3. GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE. There are those who interpret discipleship in terms of, "Well yes,
I'll follow you as I don't have to go anywhere and you don't want me to
change anything." They might just as well say "I'll join the team
as long as I don't have to play". As the disciples went along with Jesus
they heard and saw some truly amazing things and their faith began to grow.
Their lives started to make an impact on others lives and soon a whole load
of people wanted to be on the team. That's how authentic Christianity shows itself. It's always going
somewhere. It is never static. It may start out as something quite small, an
act of kindness, a sense of duty, even a throw away line in a service of
worship. That's how the idea for the "Souper Bowl" fund raiser came
about. One week in late January 1988, the Rev Brad Smith, a minister in South
Carolina, used a phrase in his prayer, "As
we enjoy the Super Bowl game, help us to be mindful of
those who don't even have a bowl of soup to eat." The pun stuck in the mind of some of the young people he ministered to
and they came up with the idea of standing at the church door after the
service, with a soup bowl and asked those who intended to watch the game to
put a dollar in it. They then donated that money to a local food project. The
first year they raised $5,700. By 2009, what has now become a national
movement, has raised over $60 million. "Mighty Oaks out of little acorns
grow." When Jesus called those four fishermen, who could have guessed at the
impact their taking on something new in their lives would have upon the
world? It took dedication and commitment. That's what discipleship is all
about. We admire the professionals who take to the field to play in the
Superbowl. Why? It involves leaving
something behind. It involves taking on
something new. It involves going
somewhere else. Have we got what it
takes to be Superbowl Disciples? Adrian
Pratt |