CARPE DIEM! Anyone remember those words from the Dead Poets Society movie? “Carpe Diem!” shouts Robin Williams—Seize the day! Strike while the iron is hot! Go for the gusto! In other words—don’t wait! Grab the opportunity when it appears. I think Carpe Diem would be a perfect slogan for Mark the Gospel writer. Mark is an action writer, and his favorite word is “Immediately!” Mark is the shortest of the 4 gospels. He doesn’t mess around with flowery speech. It’s as if he was writing in a hurry to urgently spread the word about Jesus. The word “Immediately” appears 42 times in this short gospel. That means it pops up on the average of every 16 verses! By repeating the word “Immediately, Mark creates an urgency not found in the other gospels. “Immediately” is like Mark’s alarm clock that jars us awake and compels us into action. In Mark it’s an Epiphany word that describes an event that suddenly changes your life. And so, with all that in mind, let’s look at a few folks whose lives were suddenly changed.
Our gospel starts with Jesus walking along the shoreline. He sees two brothers, Simon and Andrew, who are fishing. He says to them, “Come follow me and I’ll make you fishers of people.” And IMMEDIATELY they left their nets and followed. Can you believe it? They didn’t ask any questions! There’s no conversation here. That seems so odd. Jesus shows up by the Sea of Galilee, calls out to Simon Peter and Andrew, tells them to, “Follow me. Then without a word or a second thought they do it! Boom! Their lives were changed! Then in the very next sentence, Jesus does it again. He gives the same call to James and John with the same results. IMMEDIATELY! In a heartbeat, they are out of the boat and following Jesus, changing their lives and leaving their bewildered father behind.
In our reading from John’s Gospel Jesus does the same thing in Galilee. He found Phillip, says “Follow me.” And boom! Phillip’s life is changed. Phillip is so excited that he turns into a recruiter for Team Jesus. Phillip might be one of the first evangelists calling his friends to Jesus. He goes and calls his friend Nathaniel to come and see this marvelous man named Jesus of Nazareth. Nathaniel gives a sarcastic answer saying, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” “Come and see,” says Phillip. Come and see for yourself.
“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” That’s a funny question. Obviously, Nathanael doesn’t know who this Jesus is. But it sure seems like Jesus knows who Nathanael is. He has seen Nathanael sitting under a fig tree pondering, praying, and meditating. Jesus claims that Nathanael is a man who has no guile. That means Nathanael is not cunning, or treacherous, sly or devious. He’s got a true and open heart. And he’s direct, He says what he means. You know where you stand with a guy like that. It makes me wonder, what did Jesus see in any of the fishermen that he called? What made them good candidates for Team Jesus? You would think Jesus would be looking for followers in the temple, or among the priestly classes of people, or the religious leaders. So isn’t it strange that he called these rugged and ragtag ordinary fishermen? What did he see in them? I think he saw an open spirit in them. Maybe open-mindedness. Maybe he could see they were seeking something more in life. Maybe Jesus could see their potential that even they couldn’t see in themselves. Maybe he could see what they could become. And I’m sure Jesus could see the gifts that each would bring in the service of ministry in the Kingdom of God.
One of the questions I had when I felt a call to ministry was, “God, what do you want with an audio engineer?!” That was my first career. I was in broadcasting. I guess Jesus saw potential in me that I didn’t see in myself. So I left my tangle of audio tape and followed. We are all called by Jesus by virtue of our baptism. And like Phillip, we are all called in the Great Commission to go into the world and call others. It might not be as daunting as you think. I believe we are to call out the gifts others have in the serve of God’s Kingdom. The first UCC church I attended in Akron, Ohio was pastored by Dr. Gabe Campbell. He was a very outgoing man. He often said that one of his greatest joys was meeting new people because he said each person came with a gift that was waiting to be unwrapped. His joy was helping them discover their gifts. This is a gift my husband John has also. It’s one of the things that attracted me to him. He has a knack for seeing much more in a person than anyone else sees; even more than the person sees in themselves. John calls their gifts forward, shows them how valuable they are, and encourages them to use their gifts for the good of others and in the service of Christ. He even sees more in me than I see in myself.
It's a joy to recognize the gifts in others and to call them forward and watch them bloom into full flower. As one of our hymns reminds us, “In the bulb there is a flower… unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” We saw some marvelous examples of blooming gifts in the beautiful Inauguration celebration for President Joe Biden. There was a segment at the beginning where four diverse people were chosen to read quotes from previous inauguration speeches of former Presidents. I marveled at how well-spoken and poised they each were. And I was pleased to see that a young teen had been chosen to read some of the words from the speech John F. Kennedy gave. I later found out that this young man is Brayden Harrington from New Hampshire. He met Joe Biden on the campaign trail in New Hampshire. Brayden found out that he and Mr. Biden had something in common. They both have had a problem with stuttering. (So did Moses by the way.) As candidate Biden talked with the young man, coached him, and gave him words of wisdom, they formed a bond. And so President Biden called forth Brayden’s gifts of speech and courage. There he was on national television, flawlessly speaking the words of JFK… “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” These are words that call all of us to use our gifts for the good of our nation.
Another gift was called forth by Dr. Jill Biden. She invited and introduced us to a young African American poet named Amanda Gorman. She has such a tremendous gift for words and speech. She has quickly become ab internet sensation! She gave us her gift of vision for our nation in her poem called, “The Hill We Climb” Oh, my, such inspiring words from someone so young! She called to us all especially in her final words, “There is always light if only we are brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.” Ms. Gorman calls us all to be the light that Jesus said we are. I think that’s what Jesus saw in those fishermen. He saw a light in each one that needed to be fanned into flame. He saw a light in each one that needed to shine in the world. Jesus calls to us too because he sees a light in each of us. And we in turn call out the light we see in others.
I like to listen to instrumental music while I write my sermons. A few years ago as I was writing a sermon, I heard some beautiful and compelling piano music my radio service. The music was beautiful, quick and urgent. It seemed to demand my attention. I had to stop what I was doing and pay attention. It was riveting! So I looked at my playlist to see what the title was. The album cover said Carpe Lumen—Seize the Light. That, I realized is what the new disciples did—they seized the Light of Jesus Christ. They got up and followed and life was never the same again. We are also called to follow Jesus. And calls, especially of the divine nature, demand an immediate response. So also, our best response is to CARPE LUMEN—seize the light of Jesus Christ, and boom! Get ready for your life to be forever changed
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