It is not a pretty scene to think about, but recall the part of the movie Saving Private Ryan when US troops land on Omaha beach.  Men were holed up in landing craft behind thick metal doors. When they reached the beach, the doors were lowered… and the soldiers were directly in the line of fire of Nazis who were entrenched w/superior firepower and had every inch of the beach pre-sited. I assume this is close to accurately portraying how things went down. You likely know what happened to those front line guys. They were killed in seconds. Imagine you’re at the back of that craft. You survived the door opening. But after seeing what happened to your buddies, would you be ready to get into that chaos? Imagine you’re the next boat in line. You see others mowed down. Are you itching to fight or begging the driver to turn around? Every time I watch that movie, I ask myself, “Could I have done that? Would I have stepped up and done my duty or been a crying, pleading mess curled up in the corner? Until the day I die, I’ll ask that question: “Could I have done it?”

That is a common question to ask, esp. when we know the hardship involved. “Could I have made it through childbirth?” asks the new dad. “Could I handle high school again?” asks the weary parent of a teen. “Could I start over from scratch if my savings are wiped out?” many people ask in these financially tumultuous times.  We ask the questions and start thinking the worst.  “No, I couldn’t.  Not at all.”

As we turn to our Gospel text, ask the same question: “Could we do it, what the disciples did?” But first, what did they do?  Our lesson takes place at the outset of Jesus’ ministry. He had a message to share, to repent and believe the good news the Savior is here, and he was going to use other people to help get this message out – the 12 disciples. Was there a pool of viable candidates he could draw from? Did he search out the most learned, pious Pharisees for this task? Did he look for men of noble birth and high standing?  Nope.

The first people he met in his recruitment quest were Peter and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen. Their job wasn’t looked down on. It was good, honest, hard work. But it hardly was a job for society’s elite. It was what their family had done for generations – the family business, but not really a mentally tasking way to support the family. After that Jesus met James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They too were fishermen, but likely a little higher up the food chain. They had a boat. If Peter and Andrew were a burger stand, James and John were Wendy’s – up there but not McDonald’s.  All 4 had comfortable, stable lives. And those of you with families know that when you have stability, you don’t want to do a whole lot to rock that boat (no pun intended).

But what does Jesus ask of these salt of the earth guys? To follow him.  He says instead of catching fish, they’ll now catch souls. They will preach the same message Jesus preached and in doing so, the Spirit would work on people’s hearts and they’d be caught up in God’s net, part of his harvest, members of his kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. And how did they respond?  Vs. 18: “At ONCE they (Peter and Andrew) left their nets and followed him.”  Vs 20: “WITHOUT DELAY, they left (James and John) their father IN THE BOAT and followed him.”  No hesitation.  No second guesses.  No requests for more info.  Instead, in response to his simple request, they give up their not cheap nets, their boat, the livelihoods, their families and any stability they had in their lives and followed him.

I read this and the Private Ryan questions arise. Could I have done this, turned my life upside down and willingly given up all in my life that was predictable? Could I have left my job/family to follow one who only spoke a few words to me, gave me no real detail about how I’ll be able to do what he asks and then starts walking down the beach? Could I have done it? Ask yourself that question.  Could you?

If we look here (heart) for the answer, we don’t have to go back to Galilee’s shoreline and hear the voice of Jesus calling. We only have to look at this past week.  Jesus called us as his disciples. He brought us into the family of faith and gives us our marching orders. Maybe they are a tad different than the 12 disciples, but they have the same root: follow me.  Serve me.  In thanks for what I have done for you, do this for me.  Maybe Revelation 2:12, a popular confirmation verse, sums it up best – “Be faithful, even unto death.”

That’s what Jesus wants. Compare that to last week. Was it filled with “immediatelys”, “without delays” and lots of net dropping and boat leaving?  Was it filled with instant responses to Jesus’ calling, with service, faithful and honest?  Don’t ask, “Could I do what the 4 did?” Ask: “Did I?”  I know your answer without a peep from you because it is my answer.  No, I did not always.  No, I failed.

We know what Jesus wants - to drop our nets - but instead we got caught up in our own sinful nets.  We told that lie that necessitated another lie, and another and another.  We let that anger reside over something that happened and it grew and grew until full blown hatred arose.  We sat comfortably in the boat rather than reaching out to the hurting neighbor, either will Jesus’ comforting words of peace or with a gentle hug or some other assistance.  We, like those who passed the man beaten on the road in Jesus’ parable, stayed in the boat of peace and security rather than getting our hands messy, rather than getting sucked into a prolonged problem.

Or at times we struggled to serve without delay, immediately.  Maybe your child or aged parent was having a crisis and you were needed, but other things – work, relaxation, TV, whatever – just seemed more pressing.  Maybe when it comes to supporting Gospel work, be it with prayers, offerings, service, etc., you had to check the phone planner, punch up bank statements or wonder how involved you really want to get.  I know this is a bit vague, but just think of all the opportunities to offer faithful service to God and neighbor, all the chances to follow and serve, to be God’s fishermen in whatever way he deems best, we either missed out on because we were too absorbed in our own lives or missed out on because we loved those nets, those boats just too much.

Truth be told, the time for questions is over.  No longer can we ask, “Could we have done this?”  We must face the reality that we haven’t – not this week, nor last, nor 400 weeks ago.  We can’t take one week out of our lives and say, “Yes, I did exactly as God would have me do.”  Instead, at the end of every week, we see times when the net was still in our hands and the boat still held us.

But that doesn’t make us any different than the 4 in our lesson. They were not perfect men, untainted by sin.  You know their histories.  Peter’s failures and sins are well documented – be it while sinking in Galilee, in Gethsemane, or in the courtyard of Pilate’s palace on Good Friday. James and John wanted Jesus to send fire on a town that wouldn’t listen to the message they preached to it. They wanted revenge. They wanted people to pay. Their end of the week assessment every Saturday was no different than ours.
So how could they do what they did, leave it all behind? Jesus came to them. They didn’t search far and wide to find Jesus and then say, “Whatever you want, we’ll do.” No, Jesus walked to Peter and Andrew on the shoreline. Jesus called to James/John in the boat.  He came to them. They were unable to come to him. And the strength, the faith to respond to his call, to leave it all behind, did not come from them.  It came from Jesus, the one doing the calling.  In his call, the Spirit was working.  In it, the faith they needed was planted. His call was the Word of God, and the result that Word produced was they were willing to give it all up and follow him, no matter where he went, no matter what he wanted them to do.

Their call as believers strengthened them. We are no different. God came to you, through baptism or the Word spoken by a friend, a family member or someone who knocked on your door. God called you, as simply and beautifully as Jesus called the 12. God worked a faith in your heart, a real solid faith, a confidence, an assurance what you heard is true. That’s something only he can do. He led you to believe when you look upon that cross, you see God’s perfect Son, who came to us so that in time we may come to him in his heavenly home. He led you to believe no sin you commit is outside of the shadow of his “it is finished” decree. And he daily leads you to believe even if it was a really bad week, nothing changes the really good news you are his child, completely forgiven and an heir of heaven.

And the call that does all that strengthens us, builds us up, to respond to his daily call. The failures come from the sinful nature that is still a part of us. But you’re something else besides a sinner. You’re a saint. Part of you is as holy as holy can be and longs desperately to put God’s Word into practice, to heed his call. How else can you explain some of the other things you did this past week?  At times, you put the net down and picked up the Word, or a spoon to help in the kitchen or used your free hand to change a diaper.  At times, you jumped out of that boat, not counting how messy or dirty your tunic will get, because you knew someone needed you and you had the gifts and made the time to help. At times, you immediately, w/o delay, did these things, because nothing was higher on your priority list than serving God and his people, no matter what that service entailed. You did these because Jesus came to you and filled you with joy, and because this is the way the believer in you says thanks for all he’s done, for the life we have know and the life that is to come.

Back to the question: “Could we have done it?”  Answer? No.  That is why, as Jesus came to them, he came to us.  Instead, ask this question: “Can Jesus do this in me?”  Answer?  He can and he does, as he firms us up with the truth, the reality of his love. And having done that, he sends us out to immediately, without delay, drop those nets and dive from those boats in service to him and his people.  That is the power of Christ for us.  And that is the power of Christ in us. Amen.

It is not a pretty scene to think about, but recall the part of the movie Saving Private Ryan when US troops land on Omaha beach.  Men were holed up in landing craft behind thick metal doors. When they reached the beach, the doors were lowered… and the soldiers were directly in the line of fire of Nazis who were entrenched w/superior firepower and had every inch of the beach pre-sited. I assume this is close to accurately portraying how things went down. You likely know what happened to those front line guys. They were killed in seconds. Imagine you’re at the back of that craft. You survived the door opening. But after seeing what happened to your buddies, would you be ready to get into that chaos? Imagine you’re the next boat in line. You see others mowed down. Are you itching to fight or begging the driver to turn around? Every time I watch that movie, I ask myself, “Could I have done that? Would I have stepped up and done my duty or been a crying, pleading mess curled up in the corner? Until the day I die, I’ll ask that question: “Could I have done it?”

That is a common question to ask, esp. when we know the hardship involved. “Could I have made it through childbirth?” asks the new dad. “Could I handle high school again?” asks the weary parent of a teen. “Could I start over from scratch if my savings are wiped out?” many people ask in these financially tumultuous times.  We ask the questions and start thinking the worst.  “No, I couldn’t.  Not at all.”

As we turn to our Gospel text, ask the same question: “Could we do it, what the disciples did?” But first, what did they do?  Our lesson takes place at the outset of Jesus’ ministry. He had a message to share, to repent and believe the good news the Savior is here, and he was going to use other people to help get this message out – the 12 disciples. Was there a pool of viable candidates he could draw from? Did he search out the most learned, pious Pharisees for this task? Did he look for men of noble birth and high standing?  Nope.

The first people he met in his recruitment quest were Peter and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen. Their job wasn’t looked down on. It was good, honest, hard work. But it hardly was a job for society’s elite. It was what their family had done for generations – the family business, but not really a mentally tasking way to support the family. After that Jesus met James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They too were fishermen, but likely a little higher up the food chain. They had a boat. If Peter and Andrew were a burger stand, James and John were Wendy’s – up there but not McDonald’s.  All 4 had comfortable, stable lives. And those of you with families know that when you have stability, you don’t want to do a whole lot to rock that boat (no pun intended).

But what does Jesus ask of these salt of the earth guys? To follow him.  He says instead of catching fish, they’ll now catch souls. They will preach the same message Jesus preached and in doing so, the Spirit would work on people’s hearts and they’d be caught up in God’s net, part of his harvest, members of his kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. And how did they respond?  Vs. 18: “At ONCE they (Peter and Andrew) left their nets and followed him.”  Vs 20: “WITHOUT DELAY, they left (James and John) their father IN THE BOAT and followed him.”  No hesitation.  No second guesses.  No requests for more info.  Instead, in response to his simple request, they give up their not cheap nets, their boat, the livelihoods, their families and any stability they had in their lives and followed him.

I read this and the Private Ryan questions arise. Could I have done this, turned my life upside down and willingly given up all in my life that was predictable? Could I have left my job/family to follow one who only spoke a few words to me, gave me no real detail about how I’ll be able to do what he asks and then starts walking down the beach? Could I have done it? Ask yourself that question.  Could you?

If we look here (heart) for the answer, we don’t have to go back to Galilee’s shoreline and hear the voice of Jesus calling. We only have to look at this past week.  Jesus called us as his disciples. He brought us into the family of faith and gives us our marching orders. Maybe they are a tad different than the 12 disciples, but they have the same root: follow me.  Serve me.  In thanks for what I have done for you, do this for me.  Maybe Revelation 2:12, a popular confirmation verse, sums it up best – “Be faithful, even unto death.”

That’s what Jesus wants. Compare that to last week. Was it filled with “immediatelys”, “without delays” and lots of net dropping and boat leaving?  Was it filled with instant responses to Jesus’ calling, with service, faithful and honest?  Don’t ask, “Could I do what the 4 did?” Ask: “Did I?”  I know your answer without a peep from you because it is my answer.  No, I did not always.  No, I failed.

We know what Jesus wants - to drop our nets - but instead we got caught up in our own sinful nets.  We told that lie that necessitated another lie, and another and another.  We let that anger reside over something that happened and it grew and grew until full blown hatred arose.  We sat comfortably in the boat rather than reaching out to the hurting neighbor, either will Jesus’ comforting words of peace or with a gentle hug or some other assistance.  We, like those who passed the man beaten on the road in Jesus’ parable, stayed in the boat of peace and security rather than getting our hands messy, rather than getting sucked into a prolonged problem.

Or at times we struggled to serve without delay, immediately.  Maybe your child or aged parent was having a crisis and you were needed, but other things – work, relaxation, TV, whatever – just seemed more pressing.  Maybe when it comes to supporting Gospel work, be it with prayers, offerings, service, etc., you had to check the phone planner, punch up bank statements or wonder how involved you really want to get.  I know this is a bit vague, but just think of all the opportunities to offer faithful service to God and neighbor, all the chances to follow and serve, to be God’s fishermen in whatever way he deems best, we either missed out on because we were too absorbed in our own lives or missed out on because we loved those nets, those boats just too much.

Truth be told, the time for questions is over.  No longer can we ask, “Could we have done this?”  We must face the reality that we haven’t – not this week, nor last, nor 400 weeks ago.  We can’t take one week out of our lives and say, “Yes, I did exactly as God would have me do.”  Instead, at the end of every week, we see times when the net was still in our hands and the boat still held us.

But that doesn’t make us any different than the 4 in our lesson. They were not perfect men, untainted by sin.  You know their histories.  Peter’s failures and sins are well documented – be it while sinking in Galilee, in Gethsemane, or in the courtyard of Pilate’s palace on Good Friday. James and John wanted Jesus to send fire on a town that wouldn’t listen to the message they preached to it. They wanted revenge. They wanted people to pay. Their end of the week assessment every Saturday was no different than ours.
So how could they do what they did, leave it all behind? Jesus came to them. They didn’t search far and wide to find Jesus and then say, “Whatever you want, we’ll do.” No, Jesus walked to Peter and Andrew on the shoreline. Jesus called to James/John in the boat.  He came to them. They were unable to come to him. And the strength, the faith to respond to his call, to leave it all behind, did not come from them.  It came from Jesus, the one doing the calling.  In his call, the Spirit was working.  In it, the faith they needed was planted. His call was the Word of God, and the result that Word produced was they were willing to give it all up and follow him, no matter where he went, no matter what he wanted them to do.

Their call as believers strengthened them. We are no different. God came to you, through baptism or the Word spoken by a friend, a family member or someone who knocked on your door. God called you, as simply and beautifully as Jesus called the 12. God worked a faith in your heart, a real solid faith, a confidence, an assurance what you heard is true. That’s something only he can do. He led you to believe when you look upon that cross, you see God’s perfect Son, who came to us so that in time we may come to him in his heavenly home. He led you to believe no sin you commit is outside of the shadow of his “it is finished” decree. And he daily leads you to believe even if it was a really bad week, nothing changes the really good news you are his child, completely forgiven and an heir of heaven.

And the call that does all that strengthens us, builds us up, to respond to his daily call. The failures come from the sinful nature that is still a part of us. But you’re something else besides a sinner. You’re a saint. Part of you is as holy as holy can be and longs desperately to put God’s Word into practice, to heed his call. How else can you explain some of the other things you did this past week?  At times, you put the net down and picked up the Word, or a spoon to help in the kitchen or used your free hand to change a diaper.  At times, you jumped out of that boat, not counting how messy or dirty your tunic will get, because you knew someone needed you and you had the gifts and made the time to help. At times, you immediately, w/o delay, did these things, because nothing was higher on your priority list than serving God and his people, no matter what that service entailed. You did these because Jesus came to you and filled you with joy, and because this is the way the believer in you says thanks for all he’s done, for the life we have know and the life that is to come.

Back to the question: “Could we have done it?”  Answer? No.  That is why, as Jesus came to them, he came to us.  Instead, ask this question: “Can Jesus do this in me?”  Answer?  He can and he does, as he firms us up with the truth, the reality of his love. And having done that, he sends us out to immediately, without delay, drop those nets and dive from those boats in service to him and his people.  That is the power of Christ for us.  And that is the power of Christ in us. Amen.