Church and Stuff

Today was quite an interesting day- I attended church at BACC (Bay Area Christian Connection), where we are currently housed. It was a very charismatic service and in many ways much different than what I'm used to. The scripture that the pastor spoke on was from Matthew 4:18-20:

¹⁸As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." ²⁰At once they left their nets and followed him.

There were a couple of things that the pastor pointed out that really resonated with me so I'd like to share them with you. The first thing that really stood out is Peter and Andrew's response to Jesus- at once or as the New Living Translation puts it immediately... that was their response, they didn't ask where they were going, or even what they would be doing, and at this point they probably new a little about Jesus, but based on Matthew's account, he scoops up Peter and Andrew right after his temptation in the desert, so Jesus' ministry really hasn't begun at this point, but nevertheless, Peter and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him. There are so many other points that can be made, like the idea that they left their well being behind, etc... but the thing that was really brought to my attention was this idea that their only response was to do. Not once in this account do they go, "so, yeah, ummm, Jesus, where are we going?" "do you know how long this is going to take?" "what do I need to pack?" Nothing- they just go... I can only imagine if they had asked Jesus, "where are we going". In all of his infinite wisdom and Jesus-ness I can imagine him saying, "why? would it matter?"
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Today was my first official day off since starting training on Wednesday and it was a lot of fun. I spent most of the day with one of my roommates, and we went to Chinatown. Such a beautiful place, a lot of culture built into the buildings and lampposts and decor of the area. Also, tons of little tourists, like myself, scooping up the bargains and memorabilia to help capture those things which only our mind's eye view can really justify. So many people in such a small space, all concerned with getting their things and being on their way... did we really see each other? When I think of all the things that break God's heart, I wonder if that isn't one of them. Did you know that San Fran is approximately 49 square miles (within the city limits) and Oakland is 78.2 square miles? Guess which one has the most people? San Fran has over 800,000 people, and Oakland has just under 400,000. San Fran is almost half the size of Oakland, but has over twice as many people living in it. Did you also know that there are 5-10 thousand homeless living in San Fran alone? This isn't meant to be preachy or soapboxy, but I just wonder how many times these people go unnoticed. Not even just the homeless, how many times do the people of the world brush shoulders, commute to work, walk the streets and go unnoticed by their fellow inhabitants of the world? Challenge: look around you, they don't have to be your best friend, you don't even have to talk to them, just notice the people around you, acknowledge that they are not just people taking up space in our cosmic little universe. They are children of God, just like you.