Preface for Pastors and Parents
Here’s a children’s sermon on Mark 1:14-20. I was too swamped with other things to write the week when this text came up on the lectionary, the 3ʳᵈ Sunday after Epiphany.
But as I write, I already have children’s sermons posted on my site for the two Gospel readings assigned for this week. So I’m catching up. (Here’s Mark 8:31-38. Here’s Mark 9:2-9.)
It’s the calling of the first disciples — a familiar story to most Christians. Mark’s version, which is nearly the same as Matthew’s, is the one I tend to remember. The versions in John and Luke are quite different.
As is usual in Mark, the storytelling is very lean. What’s there is evocative, and memorable, but the details are few. Mark is clearly just giving us the outline.
Many preach that outline as if it is a complete transcript of events, which gives a startling picture of Jesus’ charisma—rather too startling for credibility, I’d say. He seems to walk up to total strangers, tell them to follow, and they do, abandoning their families and their jobs.
I suspect it was not quite so. Jesus’ relationships with these men start earlier in Luke; much earlier still in John. I think Mark gives a tantalizing hint that there was more conversation left on the cutting room floor.
What here is really kid-friendly or kid-oriented? Not much, actually. “Following Jesus” is a crucial concept of discipleship, but for today’s readers, who can’t actually see Jesus walking around, it is harder. There’s a lot of metaphor going on: And metaphors are hard for little kids to understand.
Hmm…. How to approach a children’s sermon on Mark 1:14-20? Let’s just jump in and start retelling the story. We’ll see where it goes.
A Children’s Sermon on Mark 1:14-20
Good morning kids! I’m so glad to see you this morning. I’m always glad to see you, whenever I see you. But it makes me especially glad to see you in worship on Sunday. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.
Today’s story from the Gospel is about when he first started doing all the things he is so famous for. He had just been baptized by John in the Jordan River. Then he went out to the wilderness where he was tempted and tested for forty days.
And then he came back.
Jesus went through villages, towns, and cities telling people all about the Kingdom of God.
At first he went all by himself. But one day he decided to start bringing other people with him. Here’s how I imagine it happening.
Down by the Seashore
Jesus went walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He came to a place where there were fishing boats. Some of the boats were pushed out a little from shore, and their owners were trying to catch fish in their nets. Others had finished fishing for the day. Their boats sat at anchor, and the owners were fixing their nets where they had gotten torn.
Jesus was watching two brothers cast their nets out into the water. They weren’t very far from shore, so Jesus called out to them.
“Hello Simon! Hello Andrew!” he called.
(Jesus was living in Capernaum then, and Simon and Andrew lived nearby in Bethsaida.)
“Well, hello Jesus!” Simon called back. “What are you up to today?”
“I’m working!” said Jesus. “I’m telling people about the Kingdom of God!”
“That doesn’t sound like work to me!” said Simon. “Come on out here and try to pull these nets in. Then you’ll know what working is.”
Simon liked to joke around.
Andrew was a bit more serious.
Andrew called out “So why don’t you tell us about the Kingdom of God?”
Jesus said. “Sure! It’s very good news. The Kingdom of God has come right here, close to you!”
“Why is that such good news?” asked Simon.
“Well,” said Jesus, “if you ever felt like God didn’t care about you, now you know he does. He loves you so much that he’s come close to you.”
“Okay,” said Simon. “What else?”
“Do you ever feel like the mean people always get their way?” asked Jesus, “or like the poor people seem to never get a break? Well now you know different. God has come to be a fair and generous and loving king. In God’s kingdom, good will be in charge instead of bad.”
How Do You Live in the Kingdom?
Before Simon could say something snarky, Andrew said “That sounds pretty great. It really would be good news if that was true.”
Jesus said, “It is true. And if you trust my word that it is true, you’ll be doing most of what you need to do to be part of God’s Kingdom.”
“What?” said Simon, “just believe you?”
“Yep,” said Jesus. “Believing the good news, trusting me, is the big first step.”
“What’s the rest of it?” asked Andrew.
“The rest of it,” said Jesus, “is the rest of your life. You need to learn to think new ways. You need to change your mind, and think God’s way. That takes a lifetime.”
“Sounds impossible,” said Simon.
“It takes some effort,” said Jesus. “Why don’t you come with me and I’ll teach you all about it.”
“Come with you?” said Andrew, “Like, leave our boat? Our job?”
“Yep,” said Jesus. “At least for now. You can follow me around and I’ll teach you about the Kingdom. In fact I’ll teach you a new job.”
Fishing for People
“What kind of job?” asked Simon, warily.
“Well,” said Jesus, “What do you do now?”
“We fish,” said Simon. “We throw out our nets and we catch fish.”
“Follow me,” said Jesus, “and I’ll teach you to fish for people.” And he smiled a twinkly-eyed smile.
“Is that what you say to everyone you ask to come along?” asked Andrew.
“Depends,” said Jesus. “If you were, say, a tax collector I might say ‘Follow me and I’ll teach you how to help people give to God what belongs to God.’ Or if you were a farmer I might say ‘Follow me and I’ll teach you to plant seeds in people’s lives. Those seeds will grow up and bear fruit for God.’”
“Sounds like it always means leaving your job,” grumbled Simon.
“Not always,” said Jesus, “But it’s always about learning new things that help God’sKingdom.”
So Simon and Andrew anchored their boat and came to Jesus on the shore.
“Okay,” said Simon. “Where should we follow you first?”
“Let’s go down the beach a bit,” said Jesus, “I want to talk to James and John.”
Wondering
I wonder how Simon and Andrew felt about leaving their boat behind?
I wonder what made them willing to follow Jesus that day?
I wonder what Jesus might say to you when he asks you to follow him?
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