Accepting Jesus’s Way of Love
Epiphany 3A | Matthew 4:12-23
If you came here hoping to hear about fishing, you’re going to be disappointed. This is not because I have anything against fishing. But because we have something else to focus on.
Why this metaphor even plays here.
So let’s back it up.
Two weeks ago, we were in chapter 3 of Matthew. Jesus was being baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist.
Then, last week, we jumped to John’s version of the baptism and calling of the disciples.
Now, we jump back into Matthew, skipping to the middle of chapter 4.
So, what are we missing?
The Temptation in the Wilderness.
Jesus is baptized and is immediately drawn into the wilderness for forty days. He’s out there for a fast, a kind of quarantine.
And while he is out there, the Adversary comes to him and tries to tempt him. With power. To take a shortcut. Steal the power of God, take control over the people, and reveal God’s glory on Jesus’s terms, not God’s.
Jesus, of course, says no.
Note that few of our most connected have ever denied themselves as Jesus does.
And when it is done, and Jesus finishes his time in the wilderness, he hears that John the Baptist has been arrested (In fewer than 40 days! That’s efficient!).
Jesus withdraws to Galilee. Then he goes to Capernaum.
And Jesus takes over for John.
He begins to proclaim:
“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.”
The same words John the Baptist used. Not just the same message. The same words.
This is what brings Jesus to the sea, to find these men fishing.
Not the top students of Hebrew. Or the people raised in palaces.
The working poor.
And he invites them to drop everything and follow him.
It’s a weird idea that Jesus offers them.
Fish for people. Leave it all behind. Follow me, a stranger.
There is no reason to follow. But they do. Which is clearly a testament to their faith and trust. Probably they’re inspired by him. Hoping he is the one. Their true salvation.
Stranger still when we consider how they leave.
They literally drop everything. The nets, symbols of their livelihood. Their very identity!
Hi, I’m Peter.
Nice to meet you, Peter! What do you do?
Oh, I used to be a fisherman.
How awesome do we feel when we’re out of a job? Our means of livelihood defines our very identity. Because it demonstrates our place in society. We desire to categorize each other. In other words, we’re figuring out what class we belong to.
Then the second set of brothers give up even more: their father. And his work.
Abandon your legacy.
That’s the offer. What Jesus is saying. Abandon your legacy and accept this new one.
You could live a normal life. In relative comfort. Fulfill your family’s legacy and responsibilities.
Or
Take on a new one. One offering vibrant living.
This is the message we’ll hear from Jesus again and again.
You can keep going along in black and white, or you can see the world in technicolor. Hi-Def. 4K.
That world exists. For those with eyes to see.
So when we hear this, do we feel the same?
Does that offer resonate?
The truly weird answer is “sometimes”!
And it may be for the same reason that Andrew, Simon, James, and John all dropped everything and Zebedee stayed in the boat!
When we have things: power, stability, a legacy we’re proud of, place in community: how easy is it to give that all up?
And when we have a lot less, it’s a lot easier, isn’t it?
We’re drawn to this story as a message about faith. And it is.
But when we take stock in who Jesus is joining with right after the Adversary offered him the world, the contrast shows us the true depth of the message.
This isn’t power over. Or persuasion to coerce or convince.
He invites them to join with him in a project. A project that is better with them than advanced by him.
Jesus is inviting his first followers who will help show the world what really could be.
A Vibrant Life
When the first motion pictures came along more than a century ago, it drove people crazy. Literally. The experience caused actual panic. People knew what they were seeing conceptually, but they couldn’t process it. It was too much.
By the time they added talking, then color, people were far more comfortable with it. But these were no less revelations. Our tolerance for revelation grew.
For me, the first time I saw a Hi-Definition TV more than a decade ago, I honestly couldn’t fully process what I was seeing. It was a baseball game on a ridiculous 72” or something. But every blade of grass was articulated.
Of course I wanted that! And a couple of years later, we got one. But the difference was so substantive. It felt like spending your whole life needing glasses and then finely getting them.
And what happens when you can really see for the first time?
You can see things as they really are. And you had no idea that is how they looked. You thought it was fine.
This is our new legacy.
And it is why we must first leave the old ones behind.
Now, our legacies aren’t bad. And we aren’t judging our families, friends, traditions, or ancestors.
We’re putting on the new glasses and trusting in the faith of Jesus Christ. That’s Step One of following Jesus. Don’t worry! All of us have to go back to basics with you. Because we all have forgotten that one!
We have spent a lot of time worrying about ourselves and our church and our building.
St. Stephen’s has served Terre Haute for 183 years. And we’ve built quite the legacy.
And Jesus would have us ditch it in a heartbeat if doing that put us closer to Christ’s legacy.
A legacy of community and partnership. Participation and joy. Of hope and generosity. One that makes us all partners in a faith.
Yes, by all means, love this church. Love what we do. But love God more. Follow Christ. And love this beloved community because it is the way that love is known here.
As a follower of Jesus, don’t preserve the legacy of St. Stephen’s church for any reason but that!
Because we aren’t called to preserve legacies. We’re called to advance the Kin-dom. And there is no better way than to do that in community. With other people. All of us abandoning legacies that prevent us from knowing the Kin-dom. And then accepting that new way.
A way of grace for the sinner. Care for the wounded. And hope for the weak. Because that is where true love is found.
And choosing that legacy is our first step to following Jesus to that love.