I’d like to explore Love is the Way with reference to the reading from Mark with Jesus calling of the 4 fishermen.
Let’s imagine Jesus bare footed at the water’s edge on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus saw the hard working feet and hard working hands of 4 fishermen – Simon, Andrew, James and John. How did Jesus know those calloused rough fishermen’s feet, would carry the type of man Jesus wanted as part of his inner circle?
These salt of the earth men, like Aussie tradies were the type of men Jesus said “Yes!” to. And these Galilean tradies said “Yes!” to Jesus.
I imagine Jesus said something like “You men with your rough salty feet, your muscles and sweat and fishy smell are just who God needs to transform controlling religion into a fresh new way of being God’s Kin-dom of love!”
Mark’s telling of the call of these fishermen is short sharp snappy and full of urgency to “come on, let’s get on our way, there is no time to waste!”
Were the tradie fishermen worried that they had big shoes to fill? After all wasn’t a religious leader meant to look and sound like a rabbi? A Pharisee? Did they have to get a pedicure for their rough feet? Did they have to have a long soak in bubble bath to get rid of their fishy odours? Did they have to swallow a dictionary, read theology, and do a PhD to walk the way of love with Jesus?
NO WAY!! Jesus wanted those 4 fishermen JUST AS THEY WERE, fish scales and all!
You’ve got big shoes to fill!
Have you been in the position in work life or community work where you have been told “YOU HAVE BIG SHOES TO FILL!” I had that experience for the first time in my life at my last ministry appointment. I understand that ‘you have big shoes to fill’, is a turn of phrase praising the person in your previous role. But it can sound condescending and after the umpteenth time of hearing “you have big shoes to fill!” I wanted to retort back: “Hey…. you haven’t seen my gorgeous red Italian shoes with killer heels have you!! My God-given shoes will be just fine thank you very much!”
The way of Jesus and the kin-dom of loving God loving your neighbour is not interested at all in the vanities and small mindedness of humans. Jesus took the smelly fishermen’s feet covered with fish scales, salt and callouses and embraced then trusted and empowered these men, just as they were… And look where we are today because of those Galilean tradies?
Please do not ever feel you do not have the right feet, the right personality; the right experience, to walk in the footsteps of Jesus as a lover of God and a lover of neighbours – calloused fishy feet with a loving heart is all Jesus needs!
THE WAY
I wonder if you may have seen the 2010 movie called ‘The Way’? The actor Martin Sheen is Tom Avery who goes to France following the death of his estranged adult son, Daniel, killed in the Pyrenees during a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago – the Way of St. James, a Christian pilgrimage pathway to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. That St James IS the very fisherman, James whom Jesus called to follow him many moons ago.
The Way of St James, the Camino was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during the late Middle Ages.
Christian legend believes that St James’s remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain, where he was buried in what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.
In the movie, Tom’s purpose is initially to retrieve his son’s body. However, in a combination of grief and homage to his son, Tom decides to walk the ancient spiritual trail where his son died.
While walking the Camino, Tom meets other people, all looking for greater meaning in their lives. He reluctantly falls in with three other pilgrims in particular.
Tom carries the ashes of his son in a urn in his back pack and with the other pilgrims they face challenges, spiritual awakenings and epiphanies along the way.
I watched The Way on a plane in 2011 from the U.K. to Melbourne. I was living in Sheffield at the time but was on a mercy mission back to Melbourne to help ‘save’ our son from a serious health episode. Watching the Way was like having God’s loving presence and reassurance present with me on the plane during a very distressing time of my and our family’s life.
On that plane between the UK and Melbourne I cried and sobbed watching The Way with its beautiful moving soundtrack and an epic climax where you can’t help think there is God somewhere especially when you feel desolate in the crisis of life’s circumstances. Twelve years later, my son is in a much better way, a healthy and happy father of 2 beautiful boys.
And twelve years later Con and I in November last year walked some of the Camino, The Way. Camino simply means – a walk, a journey on foot, a way, a pathway a road.
Following the way of Love as a pilgrim on the Camino was in some ways very ordinary – beautiful nature, sweet villages, delicious Galician food, a comfortable bed and the joy of all we had to do in the day was walk.
The first day in torrential Atlantic rain and wind walking 24km in the footsteps of the Christian family felt like hard physical work BUT for me it was an exhilarating feeling of achievement with the added success of using the hostel’s only hair dryer to dry out our wet socks and shoes!
As the steady rhythm of the days developed I imagined over the centuries very humble folk called to follow Jesus walking this path, this way.
The sign of the scallop shell and these amazing pillars, like totems of baby Jesus with Mary, Jesus on the cross and the prophets – mark the way reminding us constantly of the story of the faith we believe and the faith we witness to in our walking and our very ordinary living with our blistered feet.
The local folk in their villages walking their dogs or carrying their shopping wished us a “buon camino”. A simple blessing – the words simply meaning ‘good walking’.
For me it was like a blessing across the ages being passed along the loving pathways of Christian faith from Fisherman James to us today – be blessed as you follow Jesus – being Jesus hands and feet in your time and place.
THE WAY OF JESUS IS CLEAR
Christianity can be pretty confusing, but the WAY of Jesus is pretty clear and is the same today as on the shores of Galilee. As we follow in the footsteps of Jesus and the tradie fishermen they invite us in 2024 to continue to:
- Be people sharing love in action
- Empower women and the discriminated
- Create spaces around the table
- Widen the family boundaries
- Poke holes in oppressive systems
- Don’t retaliate with violence and forgive your enemy
- Celebrate our story
- Be present with people
- Heal
- Announce
- Push back darkness
- For the Kin-dom of God is near.
The Way of Love is clear. Amen.