Excuse my sense of humor. I thought it was funny last week to see this large crow, summoning all of its bluster, enthusiastically calling to the sky with dozens of blackbirds observing on the other limbs. From this distance, I could not tell if they were ignoring or listening to the crow.

Today is the third Sunday after Epiphany. The gospel lesson is Mark 1:14-20 which describes Jesus calling two pair of brothers, Simon and Andrew, and James and John, to be his disciples. Mark records that the response of each pair to Jesus' invitation to "come and follow him" is immediate.  The person of Jesus and/or his invitation was so compelling that the fishermen exhibit no hesitancy to leave their nets to follow Jesus. They immediately drop their current, familiar responsibilities to embark on a totally new journey. Mark gives us no clue as to whether the fishermen had a prior relationship with Jesus, nor to any of the rationale why they would do such a thing. The emphasis here is on the call of Jesus and the immediate response of the fishing brothers. The direction of their lives, their loyalties, were changed in an instant. The impact of the call on their lives was profoundly immediate. Nothing would be the same again.

Maybe my photo isn't such a joke. The listeners hear something profound, and are captured by the vision they hear, and the change that is imagined.