Daily Scripture
Luke 5:1-11
1 One day Jesus was standing beside Lake Gennesaret [another name for the Sea of Galilee] when the crowd pressed in around him to hear God’s word. 2 Jesus saw two boats sitting by the lake. The fishermen had gone ashore and were washing their nets. 3 Jesus boarded one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, then asked him to row out a little distance from the shore. Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he finished speaking to the crowds, he said to Simon, “Row out farther, into the deep water, and drop your nets for a catch.”
5 Simon replied, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and caught nothing. But because you say so, I’ll drop the nets.”
6 So they dropped the nets and their catch was so huge that their nets were splitting. 7 They signaled for their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They filled both boats so full that they were about to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw the catch, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Leave me, Lord, for I’m a sinner!” 9 Peter and those with him were overcome with amazement because of the number of fish they caught. 10 James and John, Zebedee’s sons, were Simon’s partners and they were amazed too.
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on, you will be fishing for people.” 11 As soon as they brought the boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Luke 5:27-32
27 Afterward, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
28 Levi got up, left everything behind, and followed him. 29 Then Levi threw a great banquet for Jesus in his home. A large number of tax collectors and others sat down to eat with them. 30 The Pharisees and their legal experts grumbled against his disciples. They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 32 I didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.”
Reflection Questions
In Onward, Barley Lightfoot tells his brother Ian, “We are going on a grand and glorious quest.” * Who knows—if video games had existed in Jesus' day, he might have used similar language to invite Simon Peter, James, John and Levi Matthew (and others) to follow him. The response suggests that his call to “follow me” must have created a similar sense of excitement and possibility in those who received it.
- Peter and his partners caught fish for a living. Not Jesus—he was a rabbi, a teacher. Why should “pros” like them listen when Jesus said, “Row out farther, into the deep water, and drop your nets for a catch” (verse 4)? They agreed “because you say so.” Have you ever had a sense that Jesus was calling you to something that was more than “usual” or “logical”? Were you open to saying, “Because you say so, Lord”? Are you open to that today?
- Most Israelites in Jesus' day despised and shunned tax collectors as traitors. The taxes they collected supported occupying Roman troops, not local entities that helped those who paid the taxes. Jesus' readiness to accept Matthew (and his friends) must have been an incredibly healing, life-changing moment. How can Jesus' way of offering love and kindness to even outcasts help you see others not through negative lenses of bias or fear, but through Jesus’ eyes of love?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I love you, and I really want to love my neighbors. Thank you for calling me to join you in the grand and glorious quest of “fishing for people.” Amen.
* Onward quote from https://lolalambchops.com/
"follow" - Google News
June 07, 2021 at 05:15PM
https://ift.tt/34W8pMN
“Follow me”—on a grand and glorious quest - Church of the Resurrection
"follow" - Google News
https://ift.tt/35pbZ1k
https://ift.tt/35rGyU8
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "“Follow me”—on a grand and glorious quest - Church of the Resurrection"
Post a Comment