Mtr Mary Trainor
On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
Dear friend,
Once again we are given the call of the first disciples, this time from Matthew (4:18-25). Even so it bears a strong resemblance to the account in Mark, right down to its favoring of the word “immediately.”
A couple of sets of brothers—Peter and Andrew; James and John—drop everything to follow Jesus.
Matthew reports: “As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers ...And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people’...As he went from there, he saw two other brothers…”
Both sets of brothers immediately followed.
Why? Why would they go immediately?
Something tells me their responses were rooted in trust.
On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
With nothing more to go on about these men and their responses, I wonder ... just how much they may know about one other as men who grew up in the same vicinity..
Jesus was known as a human being long before his divine role was revealed. In small villages around the Sea of Galilee where all of these men likely grew up, it was customary for mothers of sons to talk with other mothers of sons; fathers beam with pride as their children step into their vocational roles.
A point being that Peter and Andrew; and John and James, were of a similar age and grew up in the same region. Did they know each other prior to this day, we can’t say. Did they know Jesus, or at least of him? Did they know he was to be trusted above all else? Did they catch a glimpse of the holy, or did they at first respond to stories of a trustworthy man?
On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
I went missing one day long ago while covering the plane crash of a Congressman in Southern California. I drove to the command post with a work associate, then we started the trek into the hills and got to work taking pictures.
The sun was dropping and so was the temperature. It was time to go but, as I looked around for my colleague, I discovered he was gone. Without one word. He was gone. Christ is solid rock, trustworthy and true. This man was shifting sand.
I started walking. Two hours later I came to a road I hoped would take me home. A car approached, slowing down as it neared. It was a friend.
Turns out the newspaper staff was still at work, worried sick about me.
My associate had returned, claiming not to know what happened to me. “But,” he said, “it was pretty rough duty out there—she probably just went home.”
Others were furious with him. No one knew what had happened exactly, but one woman knew me well enough to know that I would not just go home.
Concerned for my safety, she called the sheriff’s office to start a search, and also sent someone to look for me. Our relationship was built on solid rock.
Mtr. Mary