Pastor's Corner: Follow me

(Mark 2:13-17) It was only a few words, yet the man left the tax booth immediately. Mark records no conversation, no preaching, no confession of faith, but the response is as abrupt as that of Simon and Andrew and James and John as they left their nets or their father. See Mark 1:14-20). Why? Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), who was imprisoned and executed by Nazis, says that the cause behind the immediate following the call by response is Jesus Christ himself.

It is Jesus who calls, and because it is Jesus, Levi follows at once. This encounter is a testimony to the absolute, direct, and unaccountable authority of Jesus. There is no need of any preliminaries, and no other consequence but obedience to the call. Because Jesus is the Christ, he has the authority to call and to demand obedience to his word. Jesus summons men to follow him not as a teacher or a pattern of the good life, but as the Christ, the Son of God. In this short text Jesus Christ and his claim are proclaimed to men. Not a word of praise is given to the disciple for his decision for Christ. We are not expected to contemplate the disciple, but only him who calls, and his absolute authority. According to our text, there is no road to faith or discipleship, no other road - only obedience to the call of Jesus.

So began a new life in every sense of the word for Levi. He simply left his old life and followed this teacher - abandoning home, work and security but moving toward a life of "infinite possibilities" and "significance."

Besides Jesus nothing has any significance. He alone matters. When we are called to follow Christ, we are summoned to an exclusive attachment to his person. The grace of his call bursts all the bonds of legalism. It is a gracious call, a gracious commandment. It transcends the difference between the law and the gospel. Christ calls, the disciple follows, that is grace and commandment in one. "I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts" (Psalm 119:45).

The vast grim "cost of discipleship" is something we hear constantly emphasized. However, heeding the call is incomparable to the cost of ignoring Jesus' call to take on his "easy yoke" (see Matthew 11:29-30). To depart from righteousness is to choose a life of crushing burdens, failures, and disappointments, a life caught in the toils of endless problems that are never resolved. Here is the source of the unending soap opera, that sometimes horror show known as normal human life.

When the choice is posed in such terms, what can one do but join with Simon Peter in saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68-69).

We are all called through our baptism to share Christ's saving love with the world. We may doubt our ability, but when God calls, God also equips. We have everything we need! Go in peace. Serve the Lord!

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Pastor Michael O'Hearn

Hi-Line Lutheran Churches