I’m old enough to have paid nominal fees for unique ringtones on my first few cell phones but young enough to be one who always has my phone on vibrate and prefers not to answer if I receive an actual phone call. I’m especially unlikely to answer a call from an unknown number, but if someone calls twice in a row, I figure it might be a call I need to answer. Last week’s texts gave us some classic call stories, and this week we get a few more. Why two weeks in a row? Why two different accounts of Jesus calling the disciples? How many times will we sing, “Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore,” and “I, the Lord of Sea and Sky”? God’s call to Samuel in the night (1 Samuel 3:1-10) and Jesus’s invitation, “Follow me” (John 1:43), were clear and direct. This week’s texts convey urgency. Jonah has wasted time and gotten off course — he must go to Nineveh immediately. Once there, he delivers the ultimatum: four words in Hebrew saying, essentially, “40 days, you’re toast!” (Jonah 3:4). Paul reminds the church in Corinth that time is of the essence. And when John is arrested, Jesus immediately gets to work. In Mark 1:14-20, Jesus calls to Simon and Andrew, and then James and John, all of whom respond immediately. I always feel bad for poor Zebedee, left holding his nets in the boat. Did James and John commandeer one of the smaller boats? Or did they jump in the water and swim to shore? However they got there, and when Jesus called, they responded without delay. While Jonah and Paul both point to near-future events, Jesus proclaims, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Mark uses the present perfect continuous tense, indicating that the action has been completed, but the result is ongoing. The phone has rung and keeps ringing. Are you going to answer the call? ... Read the rest of the commentary on the website.
Thanks to this week's writer Stephanie Sorge. | 
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