Good morning. My name’s Carl, and I hear you folks have
been asking about the Messiah. Well, I’m
in a position to tell you ALL about the Messiah.
Now, just looking at me, you might not
think I was the Messiah-following type.
I’m just a fisherman from Galilee.
But he called me, and I listened.
Yep, the guy himself. Frank. The Great Frank Christ.
There were a lot of guys around calling
themselves the Messiah… there was Barabbas, and this guy Jesus Christ… but
Frank was the real deal. Sometimes we’d
go and listen to the other guys’ speeches or talk to their disciples, and I
always knew that the Great Frank was on the right track.
See, unlike Jesus, who I did see a couple
of times here and there, the Great Frank never spoke to big crowds. If you speak to a crowd, you never know WHO
might hear what you believe! Nope, Frank
and us followers kept our beliefs to ourselves.
That way, we could quietly figure out who our enemies were, and talk
about them behind their backs. While
Jesus was telling entire towns full of people that they would be sorry if they
didn’t change their ways, we just kept silent.
Boy, his disciples must have been so embarrassed about that! Way to rock the boat, Jesus! Try to keep a lower profile next time. Clearly and openly stating your beliefs only
causes trouble. Better to do everything
behind the scenes, if you ask me.
Just recently we heard about John the
Baptizer being killed by Herod. Word was
Herod was looking for anyone else who might be stirring up trouble. The Great Frank and us followers, we went
into hiding. But that Jesus, what did he
do? He held a picnic! Some folks say there was 5000 people
there. I wasn’t there myself, you
see. I’m too smart to show up to
something like that, and maybe have my face seen by someone in authority. I’m sure it wasn’t that great a time anyway. I mean, how much food are you really going to
get if you have to split it 5000 ways?
Then Jesus did his first smart thing – he
decided to split from his disciples and send them across the lake, out of
Herod’s jurisdiction. His little
movement was doomed to failure from the start, anyway. Even if 5000 people showed up for his picnic,
he was destined to just be a flash in the pan.
Unlike the Great Frank. If you
ask me, Jesus did the right thing. Send
your followers away, maybe change your name, cut off your beard, and start
over.
Only thing was, a wind came up that
night. Oo-ee, I’m a fisherman and even I
wouldn’t have ventured out on the lake that night. I’ve been out in a wind like that one. You point the nose of your boat into the
wind, and then you go up one side of a wave with your nose pointing almost
straight up, then you crest and do down the other side with your nose pointing
almost straight down. Half your energy
is spent just keeping the boat pointing the right direction. Another half of
your energy is spent bailing water out of the bottom of the boat – which
doesn’t leave much in reserve for rowing forward.
Nope, I wouldn’t have wanted to be one of
Jesus’ disciples that night. Nothing
good could come from being in that boat.
I was glad to be safe in my local tavern, where everybody knows me, and
nobody knows my beliefs. But they must
have made it to the other side, because some time later they showed up
again. And guess who was with them! Yep, Jesus.
Just couldn’t learn his lesson, I guess.
They told me they’d been on a great tour – they went to towns like
Gennesaret, Tyre and Sidon, Caesarea Philippi, and Magdala… and everywhere they
went Jesus just kept on rocking the boat!
Boy, following a Messiah like that must
be a lot like rowing in that wind… You’re not sure where you’re going to end
up. Half the time you’re just trying to
figure out what it is he wants from you, and the other half the time you’re
rushing to keep up as he tells you to tend to sick people and feed the
hungry. Meanwhile, as you’re doing all
the hard work, I bet he just sits there safe in the bottom of the boat and
prays. I bet he doesn’t do a single
thing to make it easier for you. He’d
just leave you to fend for yourself and find your own way forward. I bet if you fell overboard, he wouldn’t even
reach his hand out to pick you up. It
must feel so lonely and scary to be HIS disciple.
Nope, that’s why I prefer Frank. The Great Frank never asks me to take any
risks. He never puts me in danger or
does anything embarrassing. Nobody ever
has to know that I follow the Messiah, which means I can go on with my life as
usual. When I think of Jesus’ disciples,
well, I’m sure glad we’re not in the same boat.
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