Worship at Home Guide
January 24, 2021 3rd Sunday after Epiphany
This Worship at Home Guide is a supplement to our worship services. For your convenience, a printable PDF is available near the bottom of this page.
Gathering Question/Gathering Music “Hymn to Joy” arr. by Jeanne Cotter
Sung Call To Worship Hymn #95 Prepare The Way of the Lord (Sung Twice)
Prepare the way of the Lord. Prepare the way of the Lord,
And all people will see the salvation of our God.
Text/Music Jacques Berthier. ©1984 Les Presses de Taize’ Reprinted with permission. ONELICENSE #A-716826. All rights reserved.
Prayer of the Day
Faithful God, you have appointed us your witnesses, to be light that shines in the world. Let us not hide the bright hope revealed in Jesus as he lived and loved within the world you have shared with us to share with others. Amen.
Hymn # 720 “Jesus Calls Us”
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.”
Jesus calls us: by thy mercies, Savior, may we hear your call,
give our hearts to thy obedience, serve and love thee best of all.
Text: Cecil Francis Alexander, 1852 Music: William H. Jude, 1887 Public Domain.
Prayer of Confession
God of grace and truth, in Jesus Christ you came among us as light shining in darkness. We confess that we have not welcomed the light or trusted good news to be good. We have closed our eyes to glory in our midst, expecting little, and hoping for less. Hear now our individual prayers of confession…
Forgive our doubt, and renew our hope, so that we may receive the fullness of your grace and live in the truth of Christ the Lord. Amen.
Hymn # 170 “You Walk along Our Shoreline”
You walk along our shoreline where land meets unknown sea.
We hear the voice of power, “Now come and follow me.
And if you still will follow through storm and wave and shoal,
then I will make you fishers but of the human soul.
You call us, Christ to gather the people of the earth.
We can not fish for only those lives we think have worth.
We spread your net of gospel across the water’s face,
Our boat a common shelter for all found by your grace.
We cast our net, O Jesus; we cry the kingdom’s name;
we work for love and justice; we learn to hope through pain.
You call us, Lord, to gather God’s daughters and God’s sons,
to let your judgement heal us so that all maybe one.
Text ©1991. GIA Publications. Reprinted with permission. ONELICENSE #A-716826. All rights reserved.
This hymn by Sylvia G. Dunstan, 1984, notes that the disciples’ mode of fishing involved nets requiring the participation of more than one person. Likewise, in our work of love and justice we are called to bear witness in community.
Scripture/Meditation Mark 1:14-20
Jesus Announces the Good News
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
Questions for Reflection and Discernment
1. What questions do you have for Mark?
2. What questions do you have for Simon (Peter)/Andrew/James/John/Zebedee?
3. What does the text share the economic difference between these two families?
4. Why do you think Jesus waits for John’s arrest to begin his public proclamation?
Anthem “Will You Come and Follow Me (The Summons)” arr. by Jan Sutherland
Text: John Bell, Graham Maule ©1987 WGRG Iona Community Music: Scottish melody Kelvingrove
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
As a people claimed by you in the name of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit,
Gracious God, hear our prayers for the world…Gracious God, hear our prayers for our
communities…Gracious God, hear our prayers for our loved ones…Gracious God, hear our
prayers for the church…Gracious God, hear our prayers for ourselves…
Almighty God, whose Word we trust, whose Spirit equips us to pray, we continue to pray saying:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Hymn #410 “God Is Calling through the Whisper”
God is calling through the whisper of the Spirit’s deepest sighs,
through the thrill of sudden beauties that can catch us by surprise.
Flash of lightning, crash of thunder; hush of stillness, rush of wonder:
God is calling- can you hear?
God is calling through the voices of our neighbors’ urgent prayers,
through the longing for redemption and for rescue from despair.
Place of hurt or face of needing; strident cry or silent pleading:
God is calling- can you hear?
Text © 2006 GIA Publications, Inc. Reprinted with permission. ONELICENSE #A-716826. All rights reserved.
Mission Moment Matthew 25:34-40
Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of those who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Poverty in the USA and Michigan
Hymn #136 “Go, Tell It on the Mountain”
Go, tell it on the mountain. Over the hills and everywhere.
Go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
Text/Music Public Domain. 19thC. African American spiritual arranged by John Work II, 1940.
Hymn # 170 “You Walk Across Our Shoreline” (Glory To God Hymnal)
You walk along our shoreline where lands meets unknown sea.
We hear your voice of power, “Now come and follow me.
And if you still will follow through storm and wave and shoal,
Then I will make you fishers but of the human soul.
You call us, Christ, to gather the people of the earth.
We cannot fish for only those lives we think have worth.
We spread your net of gospel across the water’s face,
Our boat a common shelter for all found by your grace.
We cast our net, O Jesus; we cry the kingdoms name;
we work for love and justice; we learn to hope through pain.
You call us, Lord, to gather God’s daughters and God’s sons,
To let your judgment heal us so that all may be one.
Sharing of the Peace: Sharing Jesus’ invitation to his disciples:
Peace be with you. And also with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you!
─Resources from the Book of Common Worship and Glory to God Hymnal, PCUSA
Text for next Sunday: Mark 1.21-28
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Interpretation of Mark 1:14-20
Mark 1:14-15 functions as a transition from the prologue in the wilderness (1:1-13) to Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee (1:16-8:21). Mark 1:14-15 is a summary, because it gathers up in a brief statement the activity characteristic of Jesus over a period of time (compare l:39; 3:7-22; 6.6b, 53-56). The combination of a brief setting (14) and an important saying of Jesus (15) makes this particular summary resemble a pronouncement story as well.
Jesus came into Galilee, the geographical setting for the first half of the Gospel of Mark. “Jesus came…preaching” establishes Jesus as herald of the Kingdom of God. Proclamation is basic for Mark, which makes no clear distinction between preaching and teaching, presenting the authoritative deeds of Jesus as ways of proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of God. When Jesus appears, God’s time is fulfilled.
In Mark, as the very first incident in Jesus’ public ministry, the call of the first disciples (1:16-20) introduces the group which, after Jesus himself, will be the second major concern of the entire story: the disciples. The five personal names, the Sea of Galilee, the nets, the boats, the hired servants, the action of casting, mending, following—all of these elements give the reader a sense of participation in the scene. In Mark this is the first encounter between Jesus and his disciples. The only words are those of Jesus. He calls they follow. The absence of details such as do the two sets of brothers get along with each other, or even the type of day, pushes us to remember the primary interest of the Gospel: the authority of Jesus and the response of the disciples.
The literal meaning of the words translated “Follow me” is “Come (plural) after me.” In addition to the command to follow him, Jesus’ word includes the promise which defines the content of this call: “I will make you become fishers of (people).” Jesus himself offers the best example of what he calls these disciples to do. He acts here as the fisherman, and the four men by the sea are the fish.
The perennial, lively power of this passage is rooted in its relationship to Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God. This story of the beginning of discipleship also conveys its essence. It is about four fishermen at that time, and also about us now.
─ from Mark, A Bible Commentary For Teaching And Preaching, Westminster John Knox Press, 1983, Lamar Williamson Jr.
It was not just a pure chance that Jesus chose Galilee for his ministry. Here among the oppressed and marginalized people of Jesus’ time, God began the new work of the kingdom. Galilee was neither a religious center nor an intellectual center in Jesus’ day. It appears to have been outside the mainstream of Israel’s socioeconomic and political life. Galilee was the home of simple people: the hardworking, marginal, oppressed, left out, and the exploited. Jesus announced good news not in metropolitan centers but in small villages—not in Sepphoris or Tiberias but in Capernaum and Bethsaida—in fields, by the lake, and along “the way.” Galilee was limited geographically, economically, politically, and religiously.
─ from Feasting on The Gospels, A Preaching the Word Commentary Mark 1:14-15, Paul Junggap Huh
Meditation on Mark 1:14-20
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! Blessings in God’s name on this Third Sunday after Epiphany, the Season that celebrates the visit of the Magi to Jesus and family, with a dominant theme being light, reflective of the star that the story in Matthew shares guided the foreigners who came to share gifts and worship God’s presence and presents in Jesus. We continue in the season of Epiphany until the last Sunday before Lent begins, Transfiguration Sunday. This morning in Mark we hear a call story of four disciples.
It is a brief and bold story, as well as familiar. The story unfolds at a brisk pace, more declarative than descriptive. John has been arrested (for what…we will learn more in Mark 6:14-29). Jesus comes to Galilee with a proclamation regarding the “good news” (gospel) and how the “time” (Kairos, God’s time) is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. Finally, Jesus issues the call for the people to repent. That is the end of the introduction, the prologue, to the Gospel of Mark. What follows is not only a retelling of how Jesus went about his work, but how he practiced what he preached amongst those he encountered.
The story of the calling of Simon and Andrew and James and John away from their work as fishermen is so familiar to those of us who have been raised in the church. We marvel at how Jesus calls out: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people (men, men and women, humans).” “Immediately” we are told, Simon and Andrew left their nets behind and followed him. Shortly thereafter (“as he went a little farther”), Jesus encounters James and John (along with hired men and their father, Zebedee), who are also fishermen in their boat, “mending their nets.” Jesus issues the same invitation and they followed him.
Within the brevity there is some hint of different economic circumstances around these four men. No boat is mentioned in the case of Simon and Andrew, which probably means that their fishing would be limited to the shoreline, wading into the water as far as they could before casting their nets. Having a boat allowed Zebedee and his sons the ability to get into deeper water to fish, with a greater catch resulting. And Zebedee also has hired men in the boat with him and his sons. I have often wondered, what about Zebedee? Did he—at some point—need to remove the “And Sons” from the sign on his fishing shed?
Jesus invites these men who have made their living fishing for fish to join him in “casting their nets” (metaphorically) for people. In doing so, he invites them to do what he has just done with them. The immediacy with which these four men respond both charms and challenges us. We admire their willingness to leave behind their nets, their boat, their livelihoods, their family and professional relationships, to follow Jesus. On the other hand, we might honestly admit, “better they than me”. We will soon learn that Simon has a mother-in-law, which means he is married. We can rightly assume that these four men heard something in Jesus’ preaching that caused them to respond the way they did. What did they hear in the message: “the Gospel of God”, “the time is fulfilled”, and “repent”?
What, indeed. What do you hear? What do the words “good news”, “time is fulfilled”, and “repent and believe” mean to you, given how many times you have heard them? Jesus re-presents—he embodies—the kingdom of God (a metaphor that occurs sixty-six times in the New Testament, with the Matthean equivalent, “the kingdom of Heaven,” occurring an additional thirty-two times) and he wants to invite others into experiencing God’s presents and presence. He speaks of “Kairos”—God’s time, of how amid chronos—ordinary time—the kingdom of God has come near in him and with him. Finally, he speaks of “repent and believe in the good news.” Repent means returning to God, literally: “turning around.” Jesus invites these four men to “follow him”: to turn away from their nets designed to catch fish and turn to inviting persons to understand what God is now doing in the world.
It has always struck me how similar in English are the spelling of the words “believe” and “be(a)live”. I recognize the latter not being an official word in our (or perhaps any) language, but it seems to me that there is a connection between believing and be-living when it comes to Jesus’ words and ways. To believe is to choose to be-living in a way that is intentional, not accidental, a way that is liberating, not limiting…truly “good news”!
Jesus invites these four to use a skill set they already know—how to fish—while inviting them to expand their understanding of what “fishing” means. Note that he does not ask them to become scientists or politicians or any task that would require a career change. He says, by implication, “Since you know how to fish, let me expand your “fishing” abilities”. Jesus begins with the gifts that these men have and offers opportunities for a new understanding not only of how they can be applied, but of life in general.
In following Jesus, these men cannot not help but be changed. Life has certainly changed for Zebedee, why would it not change for James and John and Simon and Andrew? Their very act of following Jesus is an enactment of the repentance, of the returning to God, that Jesus has proclaimed, they have heard, and now are experiencing themselves. Simon will undergo a name change, he will be challenged as to his own biases and prejudices not only during Jesus’ lifetime, but in the early church as he witnesses to what he had experienced God embodying in Jesus. James and John are found seeking to cash in on following Jesus by asking for special places at the table, only to be reminded that theirs is a life of servanthood, not one of domination and superiority.
Even the word “immediately” speaks of change, the response of these four to hearing the message about good news, God’s time, and repentance. Again, we admire these four, and yet they are offered as examples to us not only of what they did, but what is possible for you and for me as disciples of Jesus Christ. To repent is not only to be open to change, but an openness to be changed. It is a willingness to have our orientation be reversed, but the attitudes and the aptitudes that we have carried be changed in the wake of our willingness to say yes to Jesus’ invitation to follow him. “Follow me” into God’s future, is heard again today. Amen.