MAINLINE CHURCHES Mark 1:14-20,29-39 Duke ~hapel - February 10, 1985 John Vannorsdall, University Chaplain, Yale University

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1 MAINLINE CHURCHES Mark 1:14-20,29-39 Duke ~hapel - February 10, 1985 John Vannorsdall, University Chaplain, Yale University They were casting their nets into the sea. A graceful sight, I'd guess, a matter of rhythm and strength, the net arcing up, spreading outward until its weighted edge touched the water, more slowly sinking to entrap whatever fish might lie below. Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John. Jesus cast his net and drew them in: "Follow' me and I will make you become fishers of men"; which is to say, "I will make you fishers of men, of women, and of children." And traditional piety celebrates this casting of the net as the invitation which has eventually drawn millions upon millions of people into becoming followers of Jesus, and many of us as well. I'm not the only one here this morning who learned as a child these words of a hymn: "Jesus calls us; o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea, day by day his sweet voice soundeth, saying, 'Christian, follow me."' And most of us have no regret. We've been freed by the Gospel, guided by Christ, comforted in trouble, and renewed in the hope of good things to come. But I'd like you to see this calling of the disciples, this first in-gathering, to see it from the viewpoint of Zebedee and all the others over the centuries who have bee-n left behind in the boat. "Jesus saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in.the boat with the hired servants, and followed him."

2 Duke - 2 "Jesus came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God." James and John followed him. Zebedee was left in the boat. I'm not worried about the economics of it; the fishing no doubt continued, the family fed. But think how you'd feel, your two sons following a stranger. "The Son of God," you say. But Zebedee didn't know that. He only knew that Jesus was religious, and not one of the mainline branches of Judaism, and that, somehow, makes it worse. I think he was heartbroken. And I think we have to understand that for three centuries Jesus Christ broke the heart of the Roman world. The people of the Roman world had their religion, you see. The teachings were different, the practices, but religion was alive and functional everywhere. There was a kind of unity. You had a people--the Jews, the Egyptians, the Romans--dozens of peoples. Each people had a land, at least a historic point of origin. And each people had a religion. And the people, the land, and the religion were one story. Religion described their origin, provided their feast days, determined the laws under which they lived, sanctioned what was good and what was to be punished. "True doctrine," wrote Cicero, '~as ancient doctrine. The preservation of the rites of the family and of our ancestors means preserving the religious rites, which, we can almost say, were handed down to us by the gods themselves, since ancient times were closest to the gods." And along comes Jesus with his net and his "Follow me." And it wasn't long before his followers were not just Jews, but there were Samaritans too. Before long the followers were from everywhere, from many nations. Now we have something different. Not one story in the old sense where a land, a people, and a

3 .. Duke - 3 religion belong together. We had a new people who were no people in the older sense. We had people who were not born into a religion but made a choice to be followers of Jesus. We had a people with no land because they were no people, with a religion which belonged to neither a pe~ple nor a land. And Zebedee was left in the boat, heartbroken. In 170 A.D. the Greek philosopher Celsus lamented that Christians would not serve as soldiers and protect the state, they would not ho~d public office. Another commentator said that Christians did not understand their civic duty. Tacitus said that Christians were aloof, disdainful of the ways of others, people who wall themselves off, Celsus considered it a revolt against the institutions, the customs which made society pos sible. For three centuries, Jesus Chrsit broke the heart of the Roman world. Don't misunderstand. I'm glad that James and John followed Jesus. He was preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, announcing in his own life, death and resurrection the coming of a new age which drew Jews and Greeks into a new nation; created a nation beyond land, a religion beyond a particular land and people, reversed the roles of rich and poor, the ancient rulersh~p of men,over women, the ancient tyranny of sin and judgment, and ultimately destroyed the terror of death itself. What Jesus Game preaching was tremendous, a reconceptualization of what it might mean to be human beings. It was time for it, time for the new way, the way of God, the true way. It was the fullne ss of time; they were standing at the very edge of it. They were standing at the edge of the future; why should

4 Duke - 4 they look back to the doctrines of the ancients? Why should they serve in Roman legions, why become involved in the traditional civic duties? Why should they, as Paul wrote, why should they worry about marriage? If married, stay married. If not married, stay single. They were baptized into androgyny: the distinctions between men and women wer~ no longer important, the distinctions between slave and free, rich and poor. Let the fishing go, the nets, the boat. A new world was coming to birth, a radically different world, the future's world; Jesus was preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God. And Zebedee was left behind. I want you to see Zebedee left behind, and I want you to have some sympathy for him--because, in the fourth century, Christianity became the established religion. Now Christians were in the army, and did their civic duty, and they were not aloof and disdainful. Now Christianity became the bearer of correct doctrine, of what was true, what was good and b~d, the old religion against which prophets spoke, pod we ourselves become Zebedee sitting in the boat. Now, as you see, there are two things going on--always two things--and both of them called Christian. The first century dynamism is still there: the casting of nets, the fishing for men, women, and children, saying, "Follow me. The Kingdom of God is at hand. There's a new way of s eeing the world in which there is neither rich nor poor, male nor female, where roles are reversed--see the dawn! Have no attachment to this world which keeps you from seeing the dawn." But the second thing which is going on is Christianity which is the established religion: the Christianity which has

5 Duke - 5 to face the fact that the Kingdom is dawning but not yet here, the androgyny into which we're baptized hasn't yet happ ned, the rich are still rich and the poor still poor, people still more attached to their own kind than to humankind. In a worlj which is still broken, in which valleys are still valleys, and not every tear has been wiped from our eyes; in such a world there is the task of fashioning, reinforcing and celebrating what is possible, celebrating cvmpromises, adaptation, and what is obviously seco~d best. And those who are first century Christians among us come to us, mending our nets as though there is a tomorrow, and they say, "Follow Jesus." And maybe you are James and John, and it's the time of your calling: called to look at the dark horizon and see the first rays of the Kingdom dawning, see it with the eyes of faith, sell all you have, and follow Jesus wherever he leads you. But some of us will be Zebedee, and we'll go on mending our nets, quietly mulling issues of pro and con, wondering where, in a broken world still dark, the Kingdom can next have a part~al expression. To be part of what we call mainline churches--roman Catholic, UCC, Presbyterian and the like--means that we are people who know that we live within this tension. You are now in a mainline church, listening to a mainline preacher, and the lesson for today is to get out of your boat and follow Jesus to the edge of time where the future breaks like dawn upon the darkness, and to live by that light. Let go of all that holds you back: live unattached to nation state; don't serve in the armed forces; if married, stay married; if single,

6 Duke - 6 let it go at that; break the law, establish sanctuaries f or refugees in the church; pray without ceasing, and be ye perf ect. You are in a mainline church; but I also say to you that you live in a broken world where Christians have responsibilities for whatever time is left: responsihi l i ties t o children, for education, for preserving the best of the past, for protecting against anarchy, to be conservative. You must see Zebedee, left behind, and understand Celsus, Tacitus, and Cicero. What do you think the builders of this Ch apel expected? Is it a tent which can be struck or abandoned i f the Kingdom comes at midnight tomorrow? "Follow me!" And leave all this behind? Rest rooms and lounge? Both organs? It's an establishment church, built to last for centuries. What do chaplains do, people ask. They pray, for one thing: f or a cademic convocations, alumni affairs, official banquets, and the dedication of squash courts. Chapel and chaplains are established. Chaplains reach out to both sides in labor disputes, put on their boots and walk through the barnyards of academic politics; they study reports and write reports, try to figure out how prophetic they can afford to be, try to decide on what issues they will cash in whatever chips, whatever moral or political power, they have. In a broken world, in a time when the dawn is not yet, the mainline church is not afraid to survive by pa tch and compromise becuase it has a role to fill within the structures; a touch of salt here, a bit of yeast there, and a lways a prayer for the forgiveness of God.

7 Duke - 7 But within all of this, rest rooms, organs, and stone, there is also another sound, people not with boots but with wings on their feet, soaring high above compromise, singing for joy that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Follow me to the edge where wars are ended and peace comes, where the enmity between men and women ends. Follow me to the dawn arising. Are we large-souled enough to embrace the whole of it? Without the zeal, the vision of some, change is unlikely. But also, in a broken world, the dreamers will destroy us if the doubters are silent. It's uncomfortable bein~ a mainjjne Christian: one ear to Jesus and the other to the ground, one foot in heaven and the other at Duke. Actually, it's absurd and wonderful and humorous, as long as James and John never forget that they are the sons of Zebedee, and as long as some part of Zebedee can rejoice that his children have gone to meet the future whlch, by God's grace, will be his future also.