ABSOLUTE SURRENDER
“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers Simon, called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me, Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once, they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father, Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”
Matthew 4: 18-22 ( NIV)
Day in and day out, it had been a familiar routine for the four men Jesus now recruited to become His disciples. There was Peter and his brother Andrew and James and his brother John, who were all fishermen. Success in their trade demanded astute attention to detail. Early mornings and late evenings with a rollercoaster of unpredictable successes and failures in between. Still, the mysterious and neverending lure of the sea can never be ignored by those who, like the poet John Masefield, have contracted “Sea Fever”. For at least two of them, James and his brother John, there would be the additional concern for their father, who was no longer a young man and was most likely teaching his sons everything they knew about their trade. Did they never think of the day they would see their father joining the company of the old sea veterans, watching through misty eyes as their boat headed for the fishing ground without him? A feeling of helplessness would pervade such thought and always suggest it be a consideration for another day.
The occasion of our text, however, presents a different perspective.
We have been considering matters that challenge us constantly to seek answers from our local experts. But what happens next in this narrative takes us beyond all the physical analyses of our five senses to our inwardness. We must inquire personally about what is happening to us inwardly.
The immediacy of the response of the four fishermen to Jesus’s invitation to follow Him is unusual for worldings. Typically, we would seek examples of like experiences from the past before undertaking such an out-of-the-blue suggestion.
Could the occasion when Jesus attempted to recruit these four fishermen to become His disciples, God was already active. Perhaps even before their birth, God was preparing them for this very event yet to come to fruition! Throughout their life, they seemed to be preparing for this particular hour. Culture, religion, and their present history seemed likely catalysts for considering a career change! Undoubtedly, they knew the Jewish Scriptures of the Old Testament concerning their peoples’ living hope for a coming Messiah. Throughout history, the commonly accepted belief is that ‘God’s dwelling in the human spirit is the spring of Eternal Hope; as the early 18th-century English poet Alexander Pope expressed “, Hope springs eternal in the human breast. Man never is, but always to be blest”. Therefore, wherever God is, there is Hope. And changes necessary for the fulfilment of His purposes will come to be.
From the beginning of creation, God destined us all to be His co-creators. With God’s promised help, we commit to removing the grim realities that prevent the world from being the perfect reflection of Heaven’s glorious kingdom that God intends.
The likelihood of the world reaching a status completely resembling Heaven will result when the human race willingly permits an absolute surrender of their being to the innate reality of God’s creation plan. The prevalence of ego consciousness in the world instils a sense of self-esteem and self-importance in us, which must become a personal conquest, as exemplified in Jesus Christ our Lord in His Absolute Surrender to God. Then shall a new day dawn with songs of thanksgiving that the prayers uttered by generations of Christian disciples are being visibly answered:
“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as in Heaven.
Hymn: Freely, Freely
https://youtu.be/SFV0OVeKdlw?si=ZEX8Pzu5EZcHDT9M
A Prayer To Follow This Meditation
Conquering God,
The sound of Your command, “Be Still”, delivered to the fierce wind and raging seas, brought belief in miracles to overwhelmed disciples of Jesus caught in the storm’s fury.
Father, Please renew a triumphant belief in the miracle of Your conquering power in each of us. Inspire us to know that He who is with us is far more powerful than anyone or anything in this world. It is not until You conquer the self in each of us that the world sees God in human beings, thereby fulfilling its only Hope of its future glory.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Additional Notes
1. The photo is of the area in Brigus, Newfoundland, popularly known as “Middle Ridge”.
|2. The Biblical quotations in the text are from the NIV
Today, a prayer for Israel and Palestine is added to our blog ” Clinging To The Rock”. It is simply an attempt to stir the hearts and minds of people of all faiths to pray for the world in this critical hour when God’s gift of Peace is in such a fragile state. May an unbreakable chain of prayer encircle the whole world. I believe that Alfred, Lord Tennyson expresses that challenge best: