Scripture Matthew 4:18-25
As Jesus 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 fisherfolk. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people—women, children, and men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. As Jesus 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. At once they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the reign of God and curing every disease and every malady among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and tormented by pain, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Sermon
What a story. It’s a vision of something most of us feel hasn’t ever happened to us…a call, direct, out loud, from Jesus himself. “Come, follow me.” Doesn’t it make you wonder how Peter and Andrew and John and James did it? Why they did it?
My first instinct is to wonder, are we missing some information here? Is it possible that at least one or two of these men has already seen Jesus in action? Heard Jesus speaking? Maybe they saw him being Baptized by John in the Jordan—maybe they were eyewitnesses to that incredible moment!
If we look back at the verses leading up to this moment, we see that just before this scene, something critical happens. Jesus hears that John the Baptist has been arrested. He immediately decides to move away from Nazareth, his family home, to Capernaum, by the Sea of Galilee. And we read, “From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the realm of the heavens has come near.’”
Jesus’s connection to John is strong, stronger than we realize. In another gospel we read that the two men are related, probably second cousins. John baptized Jesus. In that time and place, Jesus’s baptism would be a clear signal that Jesus has become a follower of John. And now, we see that he responds to the prophet’s imprisonment by picking up where he left off. Jesus and John agree. They both preach the same message: Repent, because the realm of the heavens is at hand. It is time for people to turn their lives around.
It’s possible that some of those fishermen had seen or heard Jesus somewhere, prior to his coming upon them as they plied their trade; that they were saying yes to someone whose words had already prodded them, sunk in until they became steady background noise, like their own heartbeat.
But suppose that’s not true. Suppose Peter and Andrew and the sons of Zebedee had not, in fact, ever seen or heard or even heard of Jesus prior to his stroll by the lakeside that day. What can account for their immediate, instantaneous, YES?
I’m betting that, at least once in your life, you responded to someone or something like that. Maybe it was when you were seven and your friend said, “Let’s try out for the team.” Maybe it was when you were in High School, and something inside you said, “I’m going to be a…. teacher, doctor, engineer, parent…” something in your insides said, “Oh, yes!” to a long-term plan for your life. Maybe it was that moment when you laid eyes on him, or her, or them, for the first time, and something in you said, “That’s the one.”
We receive all kinds of calls in our lives. I believe God has a hand, even in the ones that seem to have little or nothing to do with our faith. We experience calls to friendships, careers, volunteer work, and prayer. We experience calls to rest and to awaken and to read deeply something that is speaking to us in a powerful way.
There are so many call stories in scripture.
Remember Moses, leading his father-in-law’s flock, stopping to look at the uncanny phenomenon of a bush burning, but not being consumed.
Remember Elijah, who appears in the story at a time when the king and queen are corrupt and faithless, and makes a very unpopular prediction, whereupon God promptly tells Elijah where to hide, and assures him that he will be provided with water from the wadi and meat and bread flown in by ravens.
Remember Isaiah’s vision of being in the holy of holies, at the foot of the mighty throne of God with terrifying angels flying all around crying Holy, Holy, Holy! And one angel puts a burning coal on his lips to cleanse him in preparation for his ministry.
Remember Mary, being told by an angel she had been chosen to bear the Son of God.
Isaiah hesitated at first. So did Moses, who said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” So did Jeremiah, who said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”
But none of the hesitations of the prophets holds a candle to Jonah’s. Jonah was told by God to go to the sin-filled city of Nineveh, and Jonah’s response was to immediately get on a ship sailing in the exact opposite direction. God volleyed by sending a massive storm to toss the ship about until the sailors tossed Jonah overboard, where he briefly became fish food.
The call of God is a serious thing.
I believe the people on the streets of Minneapolis, trying to prevent harm to their neighbors, or simply to bear witness to it, are called by God to that work. What else can account for their presence on the streets in the dead of a winter with record-setting cold temperatures? In spaces where they are at risk of losing their own lives? I know that for many, they are responding to the words we find in scripture, which tells us again and again to welcome the stranger. That commandment is all through the Old Testament. In Exodus, in Leviticus, in Numbers, in Deuteronomy, the teaching is the same:
“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
~Leviticus 19:33-34
Jesus teaches as his ancestors in faith taught, with an added twist: When we welcome the stranger, we are welcoming Jesus himself. (Matthew 25:31-46)
The work being done by the people of Minneapolis is a holy calling.
And so is the work being done here, in our very own corner of the body of Christ. All throughout this freezing month our facilities manager and Building and Grounds committee have been committed to keeping our walks clear and our parking lots safe and our heating in order, along with many other concerns they take care of so that most of us don’t have to think about them. Our Administrative Assistant has been laboring over the Annual Report in addition to the myriad other things she does. Committees have been meeting. Adult studies and Spirit Squad for our youth and Chair Yoga have been happening. Individuals and families were welcomed to our Food Pantry this week, as they have been every week for the past seven years. As I wrote this, a member of our Media Team was preparing the slides for our screens. Earlier this morning the Deacons set the table for the Holy Communion we will share in a few minutes. Throughout this service, our ushers and musicians and Media Team have been and are using all their gifts to welcome God’s people, to enhance and share this time of worship beyond our doors. And during Holy Communion our Session members will serve you the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation.
All this is the holy work of the church. Every one of you, in every action, small and large, is a participant in the holy work of this faith community, and that includes those who are seated in this sanctuary and those who are participating from home or from your travels and those of you who hold us in prayer. Every one of you, every one of us, is engaged in holy work.
And sometimes, we acknowledge certain kinds of holy work by ritual actions. Today we will do that as we ordain and install seven individuals as Deacons or Ruling Elders. Each of them has heard God’s call by way of a phone call from a member of this congregation, who thought about them, pondered their gifts, prayed for them, and then picked up the phone (or tapped them on the shoulder on a Sunday). Each person who answer’s God’s call in any way is answering what Martin Luther King called ‘life’s most persistent and urgent question’: What are you doing for others?
We are so deeply and profoundly blessed. And you—all of you—are the blessing. Like Peter and Andrew, James and John, each of you answered the call to be a part of a faith community, and every one of you is here as a result of God’s call, in one way or another. Every one of you is precious. Every one of you is loved. And every one of you is a part of God’s beloved community, and essential to God’s work, wherever you are.
Thanks be to God. Amen.