And (Jesus) said to (Andrew and Peter), “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:19-20
There is a saying that I’ve learned since becoming a pastor, “If you want something to get done, ask someone who’s busy.” It might be counter-intuitive to you if you’ve never worked with volunteers before. But I’ve learned there is quite a bit of truth in it.
The reason is because people who are busy tend to find time. They’ll work it into their already tight schedules and they’ll get it done quickly because they don’t have time to doddle on projects. They just get stuff done (maybe you know some people like this)!
But there is a problem with this model: it’s not really fair. Some people end up carrying the whole load. It can lead to volunteer burnout when people carry too much for too long. Even our super-volunteers need help at times.
As a community, we need to do a better job at saying yes - not only to help one another out, but because it’s what God calls us to do.
On Sunday, we’ll hear another story about Jesus calling the disciples. Andrew and Simon are working as fishermen on a boat. Calling out to them, Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people!” The disciple’s response is immediate. They don’t check their calendars first. They don’t ask if they can get back to Jesus later, maybe after they have finished fishing for the day.
Instead, they “immediately” left their nets and followed Jesus. Then the exact same thing happened with James and John, who were busy mending their nets. They too “immediately” left to follow Jesus. They said “Yes!” to God’s call.
As a community, we need to do the same. We are called to say “Yes” and follow Christ wherever he might lead us next.