2024_11_08 Insight Post- Mario Colorado
This week’s reading- Mark 1:16-19, Mark 6:35-43, Mark 3:17, Luke 9:51-56, Matthew 17:1-14, Matthew 20:30-38, Mark 10:35-45, Matthew 26:36-46, Acts 12:1-3
This week’s reading contains numerous verses dealing directly with the disciples, who were fishermen by trade. Today, we would refer to them as commercial fishermen or, more colloquially, “watermen.” My all-time passion is sport fishing, so there is a surface-level initial attraction to the stories involving those disciples who were watermen. But make no mistake, there is a huge difference between what I do for fun and the hazardously back-breaking hard work and lifestyle of the ancient and modern waterman. When fishing for fun on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, I watch with admiration how these modern watermen laboriously toil in the hot sun wearing rubber-heavy boots on a small skiff full of traps. As I watch them work, I can see the pride they take in their job and the sense of peace that comes from being out on the water. The reality is that despite thousands of years of technological advancements, their job has changed very little.
But my connection to Jesus’ watermen disciples is much deeper than being out on a body of water. Jesus frequently had to call their attention for missing so much – for not being present in the moment, despite being present with Him. This is what truly resonates with me. How I so often miss moments to make a connection with another human and fail to show that person the love of Christ. While at work a few weeks ago, I came into contact with a young man who asked if I could help him because he wasn’t feeling well and had been living out of his car for a few weeks. I quickly referred him to some local resources and sent him away. About 15 minutes later, it dawned on me – that what I should have done was just have a conversation with him. I could have spent 15 or 20 minutes with him to listen to him and carefully hear about his struggles. I would not have lost a thing because I wasn’t even halfway into my shift or had any pressing matter. In the story in Matthew 26:36-46 NLT Jesus merely Peter and the other disciples to just be present with Him. Jesus knew that he was about to be betrayed, brutally punished, and murdered. He said to them, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” This account reminds me of my failure to be present with the young man – among the numerous other failures in my life.
In Luke 9:53-56 NLT we hear another shocking example of how the waterman totally missed the mark, “But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, ‘Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. So they went on to another village.” This exchange occurred near the end of Jesus’ ministry. So for about three years, James and John had been with Jesus learning from Him and were first-person eyewitnesses to all of His teachings – never having observed Jesus destroy a single town. Yet still, they somehow believed that Jesus was going to take back Jerusalem from the Romans and reign as an earthly king. Their failure is almost comical based on the absurdity of their suggestion. But let me not be too quick to point fingers and laugh because, as a nation, we are all going to have to deal with the fallout of the most divisive election cycle in modern history. As followers of Jesus, we have a lot of work to do to show the love of Christ by being present with others who we do not always agree with.
Mario Colorado
New Hope Volunteer Manager