The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 24

sermon

Something Big,
continued from page 23
These soon-to-be-disciples consented to changing their
hearts and lives. They left their fear, risking big things in order
to do the good of accompanying Jesus' subversive mission on
Earth.
Today, changing hearts and lives looks like this: when hate
and bigotry become mainstream, it is our duty as Christians,
as people who attempt to live our lives by walking in the light
of Jesus and put off the shadows of darkness, to rise in body
or spirit and be active and use our positions as people of faith
to subvert the political dominance of violent words, actions
and policies.
We must be willing to risk security, generational wealth,
social status, family connections-things that are oh-so-big-for
truth, love, compassion, equity, justice-things that are oh-sogood and long-awaited.
Let us take on these risks by following the example of the
brothers gathered at the seashore-dropping the promise of
safety and consenting to follow Jesus to do work that we do
not fully understand, with the promise that we are uniquely
shaped to be a part of it.
So, friends: If you are a doctor, be a doctor for the kin-dom
by serving protesters injured on the streets after challenging
the bigotry codified in our legislature. If you are a teacher, be
a teacher for the kin-dom by engaging in popular education,
pointing people from all walks of life to learn about the history

of people who worked for justice.
If you are a preacher, a poet, an artist, a writer, a chef, a
construction worker, a gardener, a seamstress, a musician-be
those things for the kin-dom by advancing, in your own unique
way, the voices of those who are shut out time and time again
from positions of power and privilege in our society.
god is calling to all of us where we are, at the edge of the
unknown, simply asking us to follow the way of Jesus, and use
our talents for being the kin-dom. Know, too, that Jesus did not
call us to be solitary workers for his mission: were not Simon
and Andrew brothers? Were not James and John both sons
of Zebedee? Here, we are all united by a purpose to confront
the powers of divisiveness in our homes, our city, our states
and provinces, and our countries, to work with each other as
siblings to do this work for the kin-dom.
Jesus did not wait for the fishermen to come to him-no,
Jesus went out to where they were. Sometimes bringing folks
into the movement means going out and reaching out. And
remember what many preachers have noted before in our text
today: that the fishermen's nets did not break even though they
were full to bursting. Abundance will not break us-that is the
goodness for which we are called to risk great things.
Beloved friends, hear the good news today: god comes to
us where we are, in the midst of the smell of fish and brine, at
the edge of the sea with rocks bleached by salt and sun. god
comes to us where we are, seeing what we have and offering
to show us how to use it in a new way. god comes to us where
we are, revealing opportunities to use our pre-existing skills for
the sake of the kin-dom of god.
When Jesus meets us at the seashore, how will you leave
your fear? What will you risk? And what do we
stand to gain?

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24 Baptist Peacemaker

jul-sep 2017

-Anita Peebles is a third year Masters of Divinity
student at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, TN.
Anita is a member of Glendale Baptist Church and is
pursuing ordination in the Alliance of Baptists. She
serves on the Board of Directors of BPFNA~Bautistas
por la Paz.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017
