Matthew 4:12-22
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
"Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles--
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned."
From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
We are still in the season of Epiphany - we will be until Lent begins. Epiphany, besides sharing the story of the Three Magi, is the time we review the very, very beginnings of Jesus’ ministry here among us. We’ve been playing hop-scotch with our themes and readings the past few weeks because we’ve had so much going on in our church life. But while we’ve been looking for guidance for immediate decisions, the lectionary has been going on with the post-nativity infancy stories like the slaughter of the innocents by Herod and the flight of Mary, Joseph, and and the child Jesus into Egypt, and then our first scriptural sight of Jesus as an adult - being tempted in the wilderness and being baptized by his cousin John, who has been proclaiming the imminent coming of one whose sandals he isn’t worthy to carry. John carries the stage for a brief while - just long enough to point us toward Jesus, and then he is arrested and executed – leaving the stage to Jesus.
In various commentaries I’ve looked into this week it’s been pointed out that the first two disciples, Simon and Andrew, are most likely poor men (they are standing on the shore throwing out a net - they have no boat from which to do their fishing). The sons of Zebedee - on the other hand -- James and John - appear to be more affluent because they have a boat (in Mark's version of this story, they even have employees; they're a small family business. Many writers see in this a foreshadowing of Jesus reaching out to all kinds of people, from all economic levels. Calling them – calling us – all alike, regardless of monetary resources or even perceived worldly skills. There’s a saying: God doesn’t call the well equipped, God equips those he calls. So the very first lesson we hear is that we shouldn’t bother with but I’m unworthy – I don’t have anything to offer – I don’t have any skills God can use. None of us are “worthy” – just get over it.
The second point we hear is the utterly radical change that is required of us when we respond to Christ’s call. As near as we can tell from scripture not a one of the disciples responded with Yeah, Jesus, I’m with you – I want what you are offering ..... and then sat down again and stayed where they were.
That is probably the single most extraordinary thing in the whole scriptural story – that people just dropped what they were doing and walked away from their old lives. Because we human beings really do not like to change. We do not like to change or move. We will stay in less than great situations rather than change our lives. We will stay in abusive, unhealthy relationships rather than change. We will stay in dead-end jobs rather than change. We will stay in churches that do not feed us – and which we may even recognize as actually hurtful – rather than leave what we know for the unknown. We may hate where we are, but we at least know where we are when we’re there.
And then there are those of us who are really quite comfortable where we are. It takes – literally – an “act of God” to get us to move. We are called to metanoia - a Greek New Testament word which is most often translated as repentance, but which actually means something closer to turn around or face in a new direction. If we have chosen our church because we feel comfy and un-challenged there then we have probably missed an important message somewhere. If we do not feel challenged by God, then we are not listening.
“Comfy Christians” are sure that God wants exactly what they want. Consider the brouhaha around the new pope: Roman Catholicism is one of the most conservation Christian faiths. It doesn’t do change easily. I remember the uproar when John the 23rd -- bless the man – turned the church upside in the 60's. And in the past several decades the popes since John 23 have worked their very hardest to undo the Vatican II reforms and return the church to the middle ages. And now they have Francis – who is again turning the church on its head with his calls for social justice – which is, after all, the oldest teaching in the book – literally – the Old Testament is one long call for social justice and that was also Jesus’ favorite topic. Yet, somehow, too many Christians have managed to mute that call and delude themselves into thinking that it’s really all about sin, instead. Well, it is, but the sin here is ignoring God’s calls for justice.
So now we have a pope who is labeled a “socialist” by Christians for preaching what Christ preached! Dom Helder Camara, a liberation theologian and an archbishop in Brazil – and one of my personal heroes – has an oft-quoted line that goes: "When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist."
We here as a church have been called to a BIG change – we are clearly facing in a new direction. Jesus has called, and we have answered, but we don’t know where we go next. Are we simply doing, what AA groups refer to as “doing a geographic,” – moving to a new location but still taking all of our old selves along with us? Or are we truly willing to go where we are called? Are we prepared to do what we are called to do – even when we feel utterly ill-equipped?
If you’re like me, you probably feel a lot like “the people who lived in darkness” and we are waiting for our great light to dawn upon us. Remember – this is Epiphany season – and remember, more than anything else – Jesus is the light that shines on us. He is, as writer Katherine Huey says, the “light breaking forth in the most unlikely of places, in the midst of the most unlikely people (and for them, too) – the light shining even today in the ministry and faithfulness of communities gathered in Jesus’ name. We ourselves are those most unlikely of people, the mostly unexpected sources of help and hope, and good news for the world.” I can’t do it – you can’t do it – but Jesus can do it through us. Thanks be to God.
Next week I’d like to start hearing ideas for what it might be we are being called to. One of my granddaughters recently posted a sign that says “Find where God is working and join him there.” Where are you seeing God at work in the world we live in? Where might we be able to go to work with God?
In various commentaries I’ve looked into this week it’s been pointed out that the first two disciples, Simon and Andrew, are most likely poor men (they are standing on the shore throwing out a net - they have no boat from which to do their fishing). The sons of Zebedee - on the other hand -- James and John - appear to be more affluent because they have a boat (in Mark's version of this story, they even have employees; they're a small family business. Many writers see in this a foreshadowing of Jesus reaching out to all kinds of people, from all economic levels. Calling them – calling us – all alike, regardless of monetary resources or even perceived worldly skills. There’s a saying: God doesn’t call the well equipped, God equips those he calls. So the very first lesson we hear is that we shouldn’t bother with but I’m unworthy – I don’t have anything to offer – I don’t have any skills God can use. None of us are “worthy” – just get over it.
The second point we hear is the utterly radical change that is required of us when we respond to Christ’s call. As near as we can tell from scripture not a one of the disciples responded with Yeah, Jesus, I’m with you – I want what you are offering ..... and then sat down again and stayed where they were.
That is probably the single most extraordinary thing in the whole scriptural story – that people just dropped what they were doing and walked away from their old lives. Because we human beings really do not like to change. We do not like to change or move. We will stay in less than great situations rather than change our lives. We will stay in abusive, unhealthy relationships rather than change. We will stay in dead-end jobs rather than change. We will stay in churches that do not feed us – and which we may even recognize as actually hurtful – rather than leave what we know for the unknown. We may hate where we are, but we at least know where we are when we’re there.
And then there are those of us who are really quite comfortable where we are. It takes – literally – an “act of God” to get us to move. We are called to metanoia - a Greek New Testament word which is most often translated as repentance, but which actually means something closer to turn around or face in a new direction. If we have chosen our church because we feel comfy and un-challenged there then we have probably missed an important message somewhere. If we do not feel challenged by God, then we are not listening.
“Comfy Christians” are sure that God wants exactly what they want. Consider the brouhaha around the new pope: Roman Catholicism is one of the most conservation Christian faiths. It doesn’t do change easily. I remember the uproar when John the 23rd -- bless the man – turned the church upside in the 60's. And in the past several decades the popes since John 23 have worked their very hardest to undo the Vatican II reforms and return the church to the middle ages. And now they have Francis – who is again turning the church on its head with his calls for social justice – which is, after all, the oldest teaching in the book – literally – the Old Testament is one long call for social justice and that was also Jesus’ favorite topic. Yet, somehow, too many Christians have managed to mute that call and delude themselves into thinking that it’s really all about sin, instead. Well, it is, but the sin here is ignoring God’s calls for justice.
So now we have a pope who is labeled a “socialist” by Christians for preaching what Christ preached! Dom Helder Camara, a liberation theologian and an archbishop in Brazil – and one of my personal heroes – has an oft-quoted line that goes: "When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist."
We here as a church have been called to a BIG change – we are clearly facing in a new direction. Jesus has called, and we have answered, but we don’t know where we go next. Are we simply doing, what AA groups refer to as “doing a geographic,” – moving to a new location but still taking all of our old selves along with us? Or are we truly willing to go where we are called? Are we prepared to do what we are called to do – even when we feel utterly ill-equipped?
If you’re like me, you probably feel a lot like “the people who lived in darkness” and we are waiting for our great light to dawn upon us. Remember – this is Epiphany season – and remember, more than anything else – Jesus is the light that shines on us. He is, as writer Katherine Huey says, the “light breaking forth in the most unlikely of places, in the midst of the most unlikely people (and for them, too) – the light shining even today in the ministry and faithfulness of communities gathered in Jesus’ name. We ourselves are those most unlikely of people, the mostly unexpected sources of help and hope, and good news for the world.” I can’t do it – you can’t do it – but Jesus can do it through us. Thanks be to God.
Next week I’d like to start hearing ideas for what it might be we are being called to. One of my granddaughters recently posted a sign that says “Find where God is working and join him there.” Where are you seeing God at work in the world we live in? Where might we be able to go to work with God?
RSS Feed