Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1-11

Can We Go Before We Know?

February 7, 2010

Many of you know that I love gadgets and technological things.  I’m not real good at fixing them and I don’t really understand how they work  –  but I enjoy using them – or as Sally says – I like to “play with them”.  From my Black Berry phone to my laptop computer I enjoy gadgets – and I admit that sometimes my use of them can be described as “playing with them”.   At times I can even be distracted by them.  When I receive an e-mail and my Black Berry vibrates I want to grab it and see what the e-mail is – regardless of whatever else I might be doing.

Maybe you’re the same way. Technological innovations can be great and very helpful – but only if you use them the right way and don’t let them run your life.

One of my newest gadgets is my Garmin Nuvi GPS.  It helps get me where I want to go – and it’s Bluetooth enabled so I can use it as a speaker phone for my Black Berry while I’m driving – which is a big help!  If only I could teach it to display my e-mails while I’m driving!  I’m not sure that “there’s an app for that”, though!

GPS – or Global Positioning System – technology is truly remarkable!

I have it on my Blackberry also – but the screen in small and the “voice” hard to understand – so Sally and I gave each other the Garmin for Christmas. It does have a bigger screen and is easier to understand.

The beauty of a device with GPS technology is that you can enter in the address of your destination and it gives you directions on how to get there.  As long as you don’t mind the fact that there is a satellite “up there somewhere” that knows where you are it’s really pretty cool!

I have only had one experience where a GPS device didn’t help me get to where I was going.  Sally and I were going to the Big Tent Conference in Atlanta last June and using the Navigator application on my Black Berry to find our downtown  hotel.  The application worked fine as far as getting us on and off I-285 at the right spots – but once we got into downtown Atlanta it went haywire – continuously telling us to “make legal U – turn as soon as possible.”  The problem was – every time we would make a U turn (which is not easy in downtown Atlanta) it would tell us to make another one.  If we had followed the directions of the Navigator application we would have been going around and around on Peachtree Street – not exactly the safest thing to do!  I finally surmised that the tall buildings of downtown Atlanta were keeping the satellite that the Navigator was trying to communicate with from figuring out where we were!  We did finally get to our destination!

That experience aside, I do love GPS devices – and other technological stuff!

I used to think it was really neat that I could go to the internet on my computer – go to Google maps or mapquest – and print out directions to where I wanted to go – but that sounds pretty old fashioned now, doesn’t it? And using a real map from the highway department – well, who does that any more?

When I was a child my family took a trip to California – by car, mind you –not plane – that took about 2 weeks. Needless to say, we had no GPS device and no google or mapquest maps. I still remember Dad driving the car while mom clutched the maps and the travel brochures – trying to figure out where we were and where we would eat and where we would spend the night and what sights we would see that day. If the “National Lampoon Vacation” movies had come out in the 1960’s I am sure my sisters and I would have changed our name to “the Griswalds”.

Technology has truly made it easier for us to plan trips or even run errands.

There is something in us that makes us want to know where we are going before we leave from where we are. Nobody gets in the car any more and just drives – we want to know where we are going – and on the way want to know exactly where we are and exactly how much longer it will take to reach our destination.

We want to know where we are going and how to get there before we go.

Many of us even want to make sure we can trust the map – or the GPS system.

Is the map the newest version?

Is the GPS updated with the most recent software?

We want to know where we are going before we go.

Even in making decisions we find it hard to commit to one course of action before we feel we have all the information we need and have weighed all the options before us.  We don’t want to “just rush into a decision” without feeling that we are fairly sure of what the outcome will be.  Much like the feeling that we need to know where we are going before we go anywhere, many times we might feel like we need to know what the outcome of our decisions will be before we make them.

I’m not saying that being careful is wrong – or that knowing where we are going before we go is a bad thing – or that it’s wrong to weigh all our options until we are fairly sure we know what the outcome of our decisions will be before we make them. Being careful and prudent is good – at times. But – then again – there are times we have to follow – times we need to go – even before we are really sure where we are going.

Can we do that?

It’s hard – but there are times we definitely need to go before we really know where we are going – or make decisions before we know what the outcome might be.

As much as we like to know where we are going before we go, there are times we need to “go” before we “know”.

Can we?

Can we “go” before we “know”?

Our scripture passage for today speaks to this. Here we have Luke’s version of the calling of the first disciples – Peter, James and John.

I found it interesting as I looked at this passage this week that Luke’s version of the calling of Peter, James and John is different from the version that Matthew and Mark relate. In Matthew and Mark the calling of the first disciples takes place fairly soon after the baptism of Jesus and His beginning of His ministry, so it appears that the disciples are making a dramatic decision to follow someone they barely knew anything about or may not have even heard of. In the passage we have before us today, however, Luke puts the calling of the disciples after Jesus had begun His ministry and His fame was beginning to spread.  Several times in chapter 4 Luke records that news of Jesus’ ministry was spreading throughout the countryside – when He came to Nazareth the people had already heard of what He was doing – after He was forced to leave Nazareth the news of what He was doing spread and chapter 4 ends with many people flocking to Jesus to hear Him and be healed by Him. As chapter 5 begins there is a large crowd of people listening to Jesus – so many that He must get in Peter’s boat and put out into the water to keep from being pushed by the crowd.

Luke’s version of the call of the disciples may not be the dramatic response to an unknown teacher that Matthew or Mark might have – but it is still dramatic and was a brave response on the part of Peter, James, and John.

Did they know who Jesus was?

Luke seems to lead us to believe that they did. In fact, Peter refers to Jesus as “master” when Jesus tells them to put out into the deep water and let down the nets – so he must have had some knowledge of who Jesus was.

But – did they know what Jesus was calling them to do – and everything that they were getting themselves into when they left everything and followed?

I doubt it!

How could they have known where Jesus was going to be leading them – what was going to happen to them – and what they were getting themselves into?

They could not have known!

But – even though they could not have known exactly where Jesus would lead them or exactly what was going to happen to them – they followed.

They left everything – and followed.

Maybe they knew who Jesus was – maybe they had heard stories of what He said and what He did – but they did not know everything about where He was going or where they were going when they followed.

But what did they do?

They left everything – and followed.

They didn’t know where they were going — but they had a sense of who was calling them – and they followed Him.

They didn’t have all the information they needed to know what the outcome of their decision might be – but they made a decision – and followed.

Even when they did not know – they decided to go.

Can we do that?

Can we go before we know?

Can we decide to follow Jesus – even if we do not know exactly where He is leading us?

Can we decide to follow where Jesus is leading us – even when we may not have all the information we need to know exactly what the outcome might be?

Tough questions, aren’t they?

Leaving everything and following someone when you’re not sure where they are going or what you’re getting yourself into is not an easy thing to do – even if that someone is Jesus.

Clarence Jordan was the son of a successful businessman in Talbotton, Georgia. As he grew up in Talbotton he became distressed over the poverty that so may people lived in – especially the white share croppers and the blacks. After graduating from the University of Georgia Clarence felt that he was being called into the ministry, and enrolled in Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Upon his graduation from Seminary he felt the call to go back to Georgia – but not to serve a Church as everyone expected him to do.  He and his family moved to a rural area outside of Americus, Georgia and established Koinonia Farms —  a community where the poor – both white and black – could come, work, and earn a living. Folks in the area called him a communist because everyone at Koinonia Farms shared everything equally.  Folks also called him a lot of other names and some refused to buy the products raised on the farm because the whites and blacks lived side by side and fellowshipped and worked together – not the most popular way for folks in southern Georgia to live in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Many people tried to intimidate him and his farm and house were firebombed on many occasions, but Clarence and his family continued to work the farm and work for justice in many other ways.

Clarence was once asked if he ever regretted his decision to work for justice for the poor and begin Koinonia Farms.  He replied:

“I have never regretted it.  It might be good that I didn’t know what God’s call was going to mean for me – but I have never regretted following.”

Clarence Jordan was a person decided to “go” — to follow Christ’s call – even though he did not know all it was going to mean for him.

So were Peter, James, John, and the rest of the disciples.

So were folks like Abraham and Isaiah – and so many others in the Bible and so many others throughout history.

God can use anyone who is willing to “go” – to follow Him – even if they do not know where it may take them or all it might mean for them.

Can we do that?

Can we decide to follow Jesus – even if we do not know exactly where He is leading us?

Can we decide to follow where Jesus is leading us – even when we may not have all the information we need to know exactly what the outcome might be?

Can we go before we know?

Jesus is calling us.

Jesus is calling us to take His love into the world and to touch people with His love in specific ways.

Jesus is calling us to “catch men” – and catch women and children – for Him.

How do we respond?

Do we say:

“Lord – I’m not too sure about this.”

“Let me think about it.”

“I’ll get back to you on that.”

Or do we go and do what Jesus is calling us to go and do – even when we are not too sure of what it might mean for us or where it might lead us.

I’m afraid that too many times when Jesus calls us we are too cautious – want to gather too much information – and take too long to respond.

Too many times – when it comes to following Jesus — we are just too careful.  Too many times we want to know exactly where we are heading and how long it will take us to get there. We want a map that spells out the exact route we will take – or better yet a GPS that will talk to us along the way to guide us around anything that might make us give of ourselves or do things we don’t want to do.

We might say we are willing to follow Jesus wherever He might lead us – but when it comes time to put actions to our words we hold back.

We might say that we are willing to do anything it takes for the Church to grow and for folks in the community to experience God’s love – but when specific actions are recommended – or – dare I say it – Jesus calls us to specific actions – we hold back instead of following.

We might want to appear to be good followers of Jesus – but not want to act like it.

Can we overcome this?

Can we get to where we are active followers of Christ – always ready to follow wherever He might lead and do whatever He might call us to do?

Can we get to where we – like Peter – James – and John and so many others in the Bible – and Clarence Jordan and so many others throughout history – can follow Jesus, even if we don’t know exactly where we are going or what we are getting ourselves into?

Can we get to the point – in our personal lives and as a Church –where we are willing to “go” – to follow Christ — even before we know what all it entails?

God can use us if we are willing to “go” – to follow Him – even if we do not know where it may take us or all it might mean for us.

Can we do that?

It’s the only way we are going to be the people God is calling us to be.

It’s the only way we are going to be the Church God is calling us to be.

Getting past having to know before we go is not easy and will take prayer. It will also take commitment.

Pray, friends.

Pray that you can become a person who does not respond to the call of Christ to show His love to others with:

“Lord – I’m not too sure about this.”

“Let me think about it.”

“I’ll get back to you on that.”

But that you can become a person who can respond:

“Here I am Lord.  Use me in any way you choose.”

Pray that we as a Church can become a Church that does not respond to the call of Christ with excuses – but with actions.

Pray that we can become individuals – and a Church – who can “go” before we “know”.  Amen.