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being chosen
February 10, 2019
Luke 5:1-11
There is this movie that came out years ago called Rudy. It is based on the real life of a man named Rudy Ruettiger who dreamed of playing football for his beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish. There were only a couple of problems. The first was that his high school grades were a little low and he wasn’t accepted into the university. So, he first went to a neighboring community college, and after doing well there was accepted into Notre Dame. After becoming a student at Notre Dame he could take the next step toward his lifelong dream by trying out at the walk-on tryouts. Which is where the second problem comes in because Rudy’s athletic skills were not exactly the best, but when you have a dream which you must fulfill, nothing seems to be able to stand in your way.
As you might have guessed, Rudy makes the team, only to find out he really is nothing more than a tackle dummy for the real team. All he really gets to do is wear a practice uniform and practice with the team, but he is not one of the players who gets a real uniform, and he is not one of the players who gets to dress out as a member of the team on game-day. Rudy’s initial attitude was great. He saw his role as vital to the real team’s ability to do their best on game-day. From Rudy’s perspective, without his willingness to be the best tackle dummy every day during practice, the Notre Dame football team would not actually be the Notre Dame football team on Saturday.
That attitude stayed with Rudy until his senior year. And it all changed because of something his coach promised him at the end of his junior year. His coach promised Rudy that he would get to dress out for one home game his senior year. You see, to that point Rudy had never actually put on a uniform and stood on the sideline as a member of the Notre Dame football team. This promise from his coach was the single best gift Rudy had ever received. There was only one problem… that coach was no longer the coach by the time Rudy’s senior year rolled around and this new coach had never made a promise to choose Rudy. As each home game rolled around that year Rudy rushed to check the board to see his name which never appeared. As the season wore on Rudy became more and more frustrated with not being chosen, even to the point of wanting to quit. His teammates tried to lift his spirits, but nothing short of being chosen would work. As the last home game rolled around, Rudy reluctantly went to check the board only to discover he again had not been chosen. Then according to the movie something remarkable happened, each member of the real team brought their jersey into the coach’s office, placed it on his desk and said they wanted Rudy to take their place. Ultimately the coach relented, and Rudy, all dressed in his game day uniform lead the team out of the tunnel and onto the field that day.
******************************
Being chosen is something each and everyone of us wants. There is something so satisfying about hearing your name called. On the flip side, though, is the devastating effect of not being chosen. Having that experience, even if it is only one time, can be so formative that we end up carrying it and letting it define who we are. When we are honest with ourselves, all of us are able to admit that at one time or another, we too have experienced not being chosen. Every person here today has at one point in time felt the pain that comes with not being chosen.
Sadly, those experiences tend to stay with us for far too long. Would you believe I still remember being cut from the school basketball team in seventh grade? I also remember how I was never chosen for the AG classes in school. The funny thing is, my not being chosen wasn’t because of my classroom performance, but because of the long-ago standardized test known as the California Achievement Test, or CAT test for short.
In my own life those are just two of the numerous times where someone decided I wasn’t good enough and therefore didn’t choose me. There are many more, and they all hurt and while I know I need to let those experiences go, the truth is that is easier said than done. One of the reasons I work so tirelessly to gain more and more knowledge is because I don’t ever want to experience that feeling again – that feeling of someone saying you are not smart enough to be in my group. It is an awful thing to experience, but I believe it is even worse to feel like you have to overcome it, as though it is something to be conquered.
******************************
This concept of being chosen has always played a role in the lives of human beings, and more times than not the favored ones get chosen while the others don’t. There are times, though when the others do get chosen, and by being chosen their lives change forever. There is no better example, in my opinion, than the stories of Jesus choosing those first disciples… those first followers. I absolutely love those stories, and that love took on even greater depth about fourteen years ago. That is when I first learned about the education system of Jesus’ day. “… around six years old many Jewish kids would have gone to school for the first time. It would probably have been held in the local synagogue and taught by the local rabbi. This first level of education was called Bet Sefer (which means “House of the Book”) and lasted until the student was about ten years old.”[1] The primary focus of this education was memorizing the Torah and by the age of ten most had started to separate themselves. Those who showed natural abilities with the scripture moved on with their education, while those who didn’t would return home and take up the family trade. The next stage of education, Bet Talmud (which means “House of Learning”), lasted until around the age of fourteen or fifteen. This second level of education included memorizing the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures, but also included the study of the art of questions and the long oral tradition surrounding the scriptures. By the end of Bet Talmud, only the cream of the crop were still studying. For some who moved from Bet Sefer to Bet Talmud, this meant they too had returned home to learn the family trade. So by the age of fourteen or fifteen only the top students were allowed to present themselves to a well-known rabbi and say “Rabbi, I want to become one of your disciples.” These students were essentially telling the rabbi that they wanted to follow him and were asking this rabbi to choose them.
During this application process, if you will, the rabbi would ask the student questions about the Torah, about oral law, about Hebrew scriptures, and any number of other similar topics. And all of this was done because the rabbi wanted to know if the student was capable of doing what he did. You see, before the rabbi chose the student, the student had to prove he was worthy of being chosen.
“If the rabbi decided that this kid did not have what it took, …, then he would send the student home. He might say, ‘You obviously love God and know the Torah, but you do not have what it takes to be one of my [disciples].” And then he might add, “Go home and continue learning the family business.” But if the rabbi believed that this kid did have what it took, he would say, “Come, follow me.”[2]
******************************
Now in Matthew and Mark’s account of Jesus choosing his first disciples Jesus does in fact say, “Come follow me.” And even though you don’t hear or read those words in our Gospel story today from Luke, one thing is crystal clear, all of the men Jesus chose as his first disciples were fisherman. And being fishermen meant at some earlier point in their life, they had not been chosen. Being fishermen meant they were not disciples. Being fishermen meant they had not been good enough to be chosen. And then in one unbelievable life changing act, that part of their story gets flipped. In one unbelievable act of love, Jesus finds them tirelessly working their trade and says let me tell you who you really are. You really are good enough. You really are worthy. You really are the cream of the crop and from this point on you really are my disciple.
This is why I love the stories of Jesus choosing those first disciples. Jesus chose those who others said were not good enough. Jesus chose those who others had not. And in making this choice, Jesus changed their future, and the future of everyone else who follows.
************************
Being chosen can have such a huge impact on our lives… just ask Rudy Ruettiger. His life was forever changed when he was finally chosen to be a part of the team for that one game. But even better than Rudy’s being chosen to play football, are the stories of Jesus choosing disciples. Stories of those who others had said were not good enough, being chosen by the one who knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were good enough.
I love the stories of Jesus choosing those first disciples because they remind me that I too am good enough. I hope they remind you that you are good enough too.
Amen!
[1] Bell, Rob. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
[2] Id.
Luke 5:1-11
There is this movie that came out years ago called Rudy. It is based on the real life of a man named Rudy Ruettiger who dreamed of playing football for his beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish. There were only a couple of problems. The first was that his high school grades were a little low and he wasn’t accepted into the university. So, he first went to a neighboring community college, and after doing well there was accepted into Notre Dame. After becoming a student at Notre Dame he could take the next step toward his lifelong dream by trying out at the walk-on tryouts. Which is where the second problem comes in because Rudy’s athletic skills were not exactly the best, but when you have a dream which you must fulfill, nothing seems to be able to stand in your way.
As you might have guessed, Rudy makes the team, only to find out he really is nothing more than a tackle dummy for the real team. All he really gets to do is wear a practice uniform and practice with the team, but he is not one of the players who gets a real uniform, and he is not one of the players who gets to dress out as a member of the team on game-day. Rudy’s initial attitude was great. He saw his role as vital to the real team’s ability to do their best on game-day. From Rudy’s perspective, without his willingness to be the best tackle dummy every day during practice, the Notre Dame football team would not actually be the Notre Dame football team on Saturday.
That attitude stayed with Rudy until his senior year. And it all changed because of something his coach promised him at the end of his junior year. His coach promised Rudy that he would get to dress out for one home game his senior year. You see, to that point Rudy had never actually put on a uniform and stood on the sideline as a member of the Notre Dame football team. This promise from his coach was the single best gift Rudy had ever received. There was only one problem… that coach was no longer the coach by the time Rudy’s senior year rolled around and this new coach had never made a promise to choose Rudy. As each home game rolled around that year Rudy rushed to check the board to see his name which never appeared. As the season wore on Rudy became more and more frustrated with not being chosen, even to the point of wanting to quit. His teammates tried to lift his spirits, but nothing short of being chosen would work. As the last home game rolled around, Rudy reluctantly went to check the board only to discover he again had not been chosen. Then according to the movie something remarkable happened, each member of the real team brought their jersey into the coach’s office, placed it on his desk and said they wanted Rudy to take their place. Ultimately the coach relented, and Rudy, all dressed in his game day uniform lead the team out of the tunnel and onto the field that day.
******************************
Being chosen is something each and everyone of us wants. There is something so satisfying about hearing your name called. On the flip side, though, is the devastating effect of not being chosen. Having that experience, even if it is only one time, can be so formative that we end up carrying it and letting it define who we are. When we are honest with ourselves, all of us are able to admit that at one time or another, we too have experienced not being chosen. Every person here today has at one point in time felt the pain that comes with not being chosen.
Sadly, those experiences tend to stay with us for far too long. Would you believe I still remember being cut from the school basketball team in seventh grade? I also remember how I was never chosen for the AG classes in school. The funny thing is, my not being chosen wasn’t because of my classroom performance, but because of the long-ago standardized test known as the California Achievement Test, or CAT test for short.
In my own life those are just two of the numerous times where someone decided I wasn’t good enough and therefore didn’t choose me. There are many more, and they all hurt and while I know I need to let those experiences go, the truth is that is easier said than done. One of the reasons I work so tirelessly to gain more and more knowledge is because I don’t ever want to experience that feeling again – that feeling of someone saying you are not smart enough to be in my group. It is an awful thing to experience, but I believe it is even worse to feel like you have to overcome it, as though it is something to be conquered.
******************************
This concept of being chosen has always played a role in the lives of human beings, and more times than not the favored ones get chosen while the others don’t. There are times, though when the others do get chosen, and by being chosen their lives change forever. There is no better example, in my opinion, than the stories of Jesus choosing those first disciples… those first followers. I absolutely love those stories, and that love took on even greater depth about fourteen years ago. That is when I first learned about the education system of Jesus’ day. “… around six years old many Jewish kids would have gone to school for the first time. It would probably have been held in the local synagogue and taught by the local rabbi. This first level of education was called Bet Sefer (which means “House of the Book”) and lasted until the student was about ten years old.”[1] The primary focus of this education was memorizing the Torah and by the age of ten most had started to separate themselves. Those who showed natural abilities with the scripture moved on with their education, while those who didn’t would return home and take up the family trade. The next stage of education, Bet Talmud (which means “House of Learning”), lasted until around the age of fourteen or fifteen. This second level of education included memorizing the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures, but also included the study of the art of questions and the long oral tradition surrounding the scriptures. By the end of Bet Talmud, only the cream of the crop were still studying. For some who moved from Bet Sefer to Bet Talmud, this meant they too had returned home to learn the family trade. So by the age of fourteen or fifteen only the top students were allowed to present themselves to a well-known rabbi and say “Rabbi, I want to become one of your disciples.” These students were essentially telling the rabbi that they wanted to follow him and were asking this rabbi to choose them.
During this application process, if you will, the rabbi would ask the student questions about the Torah, about oral law, about Hebrew scriptures, and any number of other similar topics. And all of this was done because the rabbi wanted to know if the student was capable of doing what he did. You see, before the rabbi chose the student, the student had to prove he was worthy of being chosen.
“If the rabbi decided that this kid did not have what it took, …, then he would send the student home. He might say, ‘You obviously love God and know the Torah, but you do not have what it takes to be one of my [disciples].” And then he might add, “Go home and continue learning the family business.” But if the rabbi believed that this kid did have what it took, he would say, “Come, follow me.”[2]
******************************
Now in Matthew and Mark’s account of Jesus choosing his first disciples Jesus does in fact say, “Come follow me.” And even though you don’t hear or read those words in our Gospel story today from Luke, one thing is crystal clear, all of the men Jesus chose as his first disciples were fisherman. And being fishermen meant at some earlier point in their life, they had not been chosen. Being fishermen meant they were not disciples. Being fishermen meant they had not been good enough to be chosen. And then in one unbelievable life changing act, that part of their story gets flipped. In one unbelievable act of love, Jesus finds them tirelessly working their trade and says let me tell you who you really are. You really are good enough. You really are worthy. You really are the cream of the crop and from this point on you really are my disciple.
This is why I love the stories of Jesus choosing those first disciples. Jesus chose those who others said were not good enough. Jesus chose those who others had not. And in making this choice, Jesus changed their future, and the future of everyone else who follows.
************************
Being chosen can have such a huge impact on our lives… just ask Rudy Ruettiger. His life was forever changed when he was finally chosen to be a part of the team for that one game. But even better than Rudy’s being chosen to play football, are the stories of Jesus choosing disciples. Stories of those who others had said were not good enough, being chosen by the one who knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were good enough.
I love the stories of Jesus choosing those first disciples because they remind me that I too am good enough. I hope they remind you that you are good enough too.
Amen!
[1] Bell, Rob. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
[2] Id.
