Leap
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When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. -Luke 5:1
All of the gospels include stories about Jesus calling his disciples. And in all of them, the disciples have a pretty radical change of heart in what seems like just a flash. They suddenly leave everything behind to follow Jesus on the way, and we can find this hard to fathom. I mean, how can you just suddenly up and change your whole life so radically like that? We know how hard it is to make even small changes in our own lives. I mean, it’s February - how many of us have already given up on those new year’s resolutions? So what kind of wisdom or power did they have that we seemingly do not?
I don’t think they were any different than any of us, except that they suddenly realized where true wisdom and power came from. Jesus gave them a glimpse of God’s invitation on the other side of the change and they went for it. Yes, it was scary. Yes, they’d lose what they’d always had. But they trusted that Jesus was going to show them the way into a new life - the one they were meant to be living. And they knew that Jesus was right by their side every step of the way, showing them the way.
It’s like that moment at the edge of a high diving board. It looks so far down to the water and you’re not sure you’re really ready to jump. No one wants to live on the edge of a diving board forever - it’s gritty and uncomfortable - but at least your feet have something to grip, and you can control your own body as long as you’re standing there on your own two feet. To dive means losing all your control. So what is that mysterious moment at which you feel ready and begin to lean forward into the dive - that moment you allow gravity to take control of you - that moment of no return?
The disciples were at that mysterious moment of being ready themselves. They were at the point of letting God take control of them and entering into a life in Christ. They’d bring their gifts and skills with them, but they’d be using them in a whole new way - for God instead of themselves. And they took the leap. They said yes and went with Jesus.
At the root of all change is a desire to change. You have to want to take a dive to even flirt with the edge of a diving board. In the same way, the desire to follow Jesus is at the root of living a Christian life. As Thomas Merton says, we hope we have that desire in everything that we are doing. Sometimes in this world, our desires can get confused. We can come to desire that gritty foothold more than God’s call. We can desire a sense of being in control more than we desire the freedom offered by the life of faith.
The pandemic has caused us all to re-examine our patterns and our priorities - in life, and in church. Are we actually doing every thing we do in church out of a desire to follow Jesus? Or have we at times begun to serve ourselves? How is Jesus calling us out of our comfort zone in 2022, more centered in the Way once again? What leaps of faith may be before us? What might we being called to leave behind? Such are the questions we are wrestling with these days as faithful people.
This Sunday we will celebrate St. James, our community of faith, which keeps us close to Christ in confusing times. It’s a Good Sunday to give thanks to one another for the companionship and nourishment we’ve shared with each other during this time of tumultuous change. And it’s a good Sunday to recall our deep desire to follow and serve God as Peter and the early disciples did. Make us ready, God, to take the leaps of faith you’re calling us to make, whatever they may be, in the year ahead.
