Savannah Burch, Associate Director of Student Ministries

Matthew 4:18-22

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Reflection:

What a simple but powerful meet-cute. You know, that’s when two characters meet in a movie in a unique way, a way that’s meant to get our attention. Jesus meets these fishermen and offers them an opportunity to do something they’re already good at—just a little bit different (fishing for people instead of fish, a tiny detail). They heed the call of a stranger, drop their nets and go. Do you think they knew what they were getting into? No really, did they imagine this was a temp job or a fun weekend out with their new buddy Jesus? I wonder if they assumed they’d be back on the water sometime soon…but, of course, we know that’s not how Jesus invites us into Kingdom work, is it

In May of 2010, I packed up the family car and my cute little Pontiac and we all caravanned from Lockhart to Houston, where I would spend the summer as an intern with St. Luke’s Student Ministries. I had worked at youth camps and weekends before, had done a summer gig with the SWTX Conference of the UMC, enjoyed hanging out with teenagers, and was good (well, teachable) at leading Bible studies, so I was excited for a fun and easy summer. I was a little nervous, of course. Would Mr. Dulaney be a nice boss? (Wait…do I call him Mr. Dulaney or Rob??) Would the other interns like me? More importantly, would the students? Vaguely in the back of my mind was the looming question, “What the heck am I going to do when I graduate next semester?” Well, never mind. This summer was for fun and I’d deal with the future when I got back to school.

But as we arrived at Aunt Linda’s house and started unloading, an emotion rose up in me—a knowing—that something was happening here. This would be familiar work, but I knew without understanding how I knew that it would be different this time. It felt far more significant than a summer internship. And so it was. By August my brain had caught on to what my soul already knew—THIS was what I was going to do when I graduated. Jesus had invited me into work I already knew, just a little bit different.

I believe that Jesus slips these invitations into all of our lives–opportunities to do what we’re good at, just a little bit different. I wonder how many of them we’ve accepted without even realizing it? How many of our greeters at St. Luke’s were asked to fill that role because they were already good at making strangers feel at home? How many small group leaders are great at leading small groups because they love learning more about God through scripture? How many of us are doing the holy work of drawing others closer to the Kingdom of God just by doing what we already do: keeping business finances with integrity, teaching with compassion, training new hires with patience, parenting with grace? May we have the eyes to see and the courage to say yes to the Lord’s invitation to use our everyday living for his Kingdom, even (and especially) if it looks a little bit different from what we’re used to.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for inviting us into your good work—even if we don’t always realize it! We know you can bring about your Kingdom without us, but we are so grateful that you ask us to join you anyway. Open our eyes to different ways we can serve our communities by doing what you’ve already made us to do. Amen.