“As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.” Matthew 4:18-19, 21-22 NRSV
There’s been a theme of call story going on for the past couple of Sundays with the Lectionary passages. Any time a call story shows up, it’s a good reminder for me to reflect upon my own call, and the numerous holy friends who shepherded me along the journey of answering that call so many years ago.
I remember attending a Conference Evangelism workshop at Camp Rockfish early in my ministry, where team leaders introduced participants on how to use biblical animation in their preaching and teaching. Matthew 4 seems to lend itself well to this tool, as we invite folks to imagine themselves in the story. Which disciple are you? What were you doing? What were you hoping for with your fishing that day? What was on your mind? What was it like to hear Jesus say, “Follow me”? What did you feel when you heard the voice of Jesus speaking to you? What other sounds did you hear when Jesus called over to you? What did Zebedee say when you left?
During the days between Christmas and New Year’s, I was fortunate to spend some time with family at Emerald Isle, where the days were certainly on the cold side this year, yet warmed up a bit as 2022 was coming to an end. During the few days of walking and watching the ocean breathe in and breathe out, we kept searching for dolphins, hoping we would catch a glimpse of the familiar dorsal fin emerging from the water. Days went by with no sightings, but then it happened. Someone hollered from the living room, “Dolphins!” and we all scampered to the windows, eagerly waiting to see for ourselves. Sure enough, dorsal fins started showing up in groups of twos and threes, and then, one of them leaped out of the water, and words started being exclaimed around us, capturing our emotions: “Did you see that?!” “That was amazing!” “Wow. Just wow.” It was such a special moment for all of us, and I could hear relief in the voices around me of finally seeing something we had all hoped for. I could see glory on each face, as the hymn reminds us (UMH 328). It was such a magnificent moment for all of us.
I wonder if it was like that for Peter, Andrew, James and John? I wonder if they were curious, or excited, or hesitant, or joyful in their own responses to the invitation Jesus was offering them? I wonder what they might have said to each other when they heard Jesus say, “Follow me.” I wonder, in the midst of their immediate and spontaneous response to indeed follow Jesus, they might have said, “Can you believe this is happening?!” “What is going on?!” “Where are we going, what are we doing?!”
As these opening days of a New Year have become weeks, how are we leaping for joy, as we follow Jesus? How are we staying faithful to those resolutions we made a couple weeks ago? What spiritual disciplines are we practicing so that we stay connected to Jesus?
Live fully this week. Enjoy those moments that cause you to leap for joy. Share these moments so that others might see the joy of Jesus in you.
Blessings, 
David