You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore, WOV 784 and ELW 817
Devotion
Jesus came down to the sea and invited fishermen to follow him. They left their boats, joining Jesus’ “seminary,” a roving learning lab where village life provided content and context. Stories taken from the life of the villages provided the curriculum. It was contextual education, learning by doing; acts of love and mercy. The student/apprentice was not only to be a hearer but a doer, as James would write in his epistle, “doers of the word.” (James 1:23).
When Jesus entered their “turf,” their place of work became a sacred space. Later, after the resurrection of Jesus, they could and would return to their place of work, where Jesus had been and would continue to be. Occupation and vocation were joined. They worked with their hands, not just their heads, and they put their hearts into it. Jesus met them down by the sea while they were working. They could remain there and be disciples through their daily toil.
Prayer
Dear Lord, you visit me where I am – my home, my place of work, my every day. Help me to be your “on site” disciple, serving the needs of others by being a doer of the word. Amen.