ROME IMPROVEMENT 01/24/2021

MORE POWER!  MORE GLORY!!  MORE SPIRIT!!!

SURVEYING THE SITE—Mark 1: 14-20

In the Gospel of Mark, we are now forty days or more out from the day that Jesus was baptized. Jesus has been spending some time in the wilderness, and apparently John has been creating a fuss because we are told that this walk along the Galilean seashore occurs after John is arrested.

If this passage has a Herman’s Hermits’, “I’m Henry the 8^th,” feel to it, it’s because last week we encountered the call of Andrew and Peter in John’s context. The details are a little different, but the call or the command is the same: Jesus says, “Follow me.” And they follow.

READING THE BLUEPRINT

“They were casting nets into the sea because they were fishermen.” The word for fish in Greek is ichthus. “ch”, is the sound of the Greek letter chi, X. ICHTHUS is also an acronym for Jesus Christ, God’s Son and savior.

The seeking and catching of fish is the goal of casting nets.  This is the matter at hand, gaining Christ in their lives, and it is dominant in this ichthus story event.  Another way of looking at this story is to understand that Peter and Andrew are casting nets to gather the image of Christ in their midst. In the course of their work, Jesus comes and says to them “Follow me.” From casting for ichthus, they end by following the ICHTHUS they are seeking to catch.

As Jesus, Peter, and Andrew continue down the beach, they pass by James and John, the sons of Zebedee. We see that the casting of nets cannot contain the image and power of the great ICHTHUS for James and John are mending nets. And James and John, like Peter and Andrew, leave their casting about in order to follow Jesus.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

From the ancient stories of mermaids and mermen trying to become human as an act of love for humans comes this story of casting for fish, ichthus, and discovering the fish, ICHTHUS, who walks upon the land out of love for and for the sake of humankind. This walk will be challenging and painful. It will be a walk that leads to death and new life.

In this new life, we are invited to join in the waters of Baptism where we will drown, be washed clean, be raised up in Christ, and be sent into the world. Tertullian, a Church Father, said, “In the waters of Baptism, we are little fish (ichthus) raised up into the great fish (ICHTHUS). As such, we are raised up from the waters of Baptism with our tails bifurcated so that we might walk among God’s people for the sake of our neighbors and the world. Having been raised up from these new-life waters might we sing a song of praise that begins “under the sea?”

Is it any wonder that we find the disciples who are fishers casting nets? Is it too amazing to discover that the energies of those who are trying to catch the great ICHTHUS, might be turned to catch lesser fish (ichthus) for the glory of God?

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

Within the narrative lies a story of imperial oppression. The city of Tiberius was established as an oversight center for levying taxes and issuing licenses regulating the fishing trade. Some authorities point out that the taxes and fees on the fishing industry, which had been self-supporting, had become so burdensome that gaining a livelihood from fishing was now difficult. Rome controlled the fishing industry by demanding licensing franchises so that the very possession of a boat was a privilege granted by Roman authority. The fish caught had to be turned over to processors and distributors who sent the fish and fish products to the borders of the empire while the people of Israel were left wanting.

Fishing itself had become a sign of Roman oppression, and those who participated in the fishing industry were regarded as participating in the oppression. As such, when Peter, Andrew, James, and John choose to follow Jesus, they are acting in defiance of Roman power.

HANGING THE TRIM

As the disciples, in their radical following of Jesus, the great IXTHUS, also turned away from their privilege and the power of Roman oppression, today we too are called to turn away from our privilege in order to lift up those who live lives of oppression. We are called to recognize our systemic racism, sexism, ableism, and elitism, and break down the institutional barriers that prevent equal access to the many benefits of our society and nation. Jesus continues to call us, saying, “Follow me.”