Thomas E. Myers

January 27, 2008

Matthew 4: 12 – 23

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- 16 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.”  17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

18 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 sea--for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 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. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

 “Let Your Light Shine”

For a moment, stand with Andrew and Peter fishing by the sea, or sit with James and John seated in a boat with their father, Zebedee.  The family made their living along the sea.  This occupation provided the family of Zebedee with some financial security.

Would you suddenly drop everything and go traipsing off with someone who shows up one day?  O.K. then, how about going with someone who tells you wild stories and speaks of changing the world?  Alright, well, how about running off with someone who has great wisdom and understanding and talks a lot about God?  O.K. then, how about running off with someone who lives a life of adventure, someone who is going someplace/anyplace, who is friendly, and is very good-looking? 

Sometimes this happens to people.  They discover something new, or something strange gets into them.  Sometimes it is life affirming and sometimes it is not.  They just drop everything and run off. 

I had a roommate in college who met a young woman, a freshman, and they spent the whole night watching the stars out on the balcony.  He was never quite the same again…  Does that count?  And, I knew of a mother, once, who had two small children.  One day she went to town and never came back home.  Her husband was in shock and her kids couldn’t imagine what changed their mother so.  And I’ve seen people just walk off the job, no explanation.  One minute they are working hard, seemingly happy with their job, the next they are gathering up their things and heading out the door.

So, when the disciples heard Jesus say “follow me,” wouldn’t you think that they would first want him to say something about where he would be going and what the group would be up to?  Poor Zebedee, he was left in the boat while James and John left - immediately.  What was it that got into them?

Would you not want some assurance of a worthwhile pay-off for dropping everything and heading off on such a risky journey?  Maybe fishing on Lake Galilee was not such a romantic means of making a living.

When we hear Jesus’ invitation – “follow me” – it is as if time and place fade.  His words slice through the centuries between when he first spoke them and when we first hear them.  Questions leap to the front of our minds: What do those words from Jesus mean for us?  “Come, follow me!” 

How have we followed?  What life did we leave behind?

We are called to a great ministry, one that has gotten into us, one that has us involved in God’s realm, a realm that is loving and life affirming.  One that encourages us to let our light shine.  Jesus not only calls us, what’s more, he encourages us to live by his teachings.  We are called to be people of the light, to make disciples, to be fishers of people.  Jesus calls us to a ministry of service for the poor.  He taught us that our response to the poor reflects our love for God.  And if that is not enough, Jesus tells us to forgive people who have done us wrong, to pray for our enemies, and to return good for evil.  He wants us to be children of the light.  It might be easier if we were only to fish for people, but there is more, much more.

Following Jesus is not all that easy.  To follow Jesus means to pay attention to aspects of life that we prefer to ignore.  It means to come down on the side of grace even if it means sacrifice or enduring criticism.  It means to live our life with the knowledge that everything belongs to God.  It means to stop putting other people down.  No grumpy ladybugs allowed.  It means to support the work of God with the fullness of our very being and our resources.

When Jesus showed up that day in front of James, Andrew, Peter, and John along the Sea of Galilee, they did not know what we know.  They just knew that there must be something better. 

The importance of Jesus’ words – “Follow me” – is found in how we respond to him today.  Are we willing to change course, to live life in a different way?  Are we willing to follow the light and live in the light?  He comes to us with the same invitation.  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (v. 17).  Change your direction, be part of the kingdom, be a disciple of the light.  And bring someone along with you.  “Have you caught anybody lately?”

If you’re living in the light there should be some who are interested in what you’re doing.  It’s really not very complicated, not so spectacular.  If you live your life with joy, with hope, with integrity; if you are positive, happy, honest, and a person with a generous spirit; people will notice and they’ll want to be part of it.  All you have to do is invite them.

People don’t say, “The reason I don’t come to church is I have some hermeneutical disagreements with the church’s interpretation of Scripture.  ”No, it’s usually because no one has ever invited them.  Or, stated another way, it’s because no one appeared to be very inviting.  We could all use a brush-up on being more inviting.  Jesus was inviting.  He was warm and friendly, wise and loving.  In his very being he was inviting.  Jesus went to where people were and invited them to be part of God’s Realm.  He wanted others to be inviting too.  He wanted others to be disciples of the light.

Consider how you got here.  I expect that most of us came, not as the result of the classes, or the sermon, or the spectacular music, or because of all the outreach the church does, or because the coffee is good.  No we came here because someone we like invited us, and when we got here we made friends.  We are here because we were invited by inviting people.

You see, Jesus really does want us to be inviting, and to catch people.

 List of Previous Sermons