Epiphany 3A
January 26, 2020
Matthew 4:12-23
INTRODUCTION
Last week we
heard John’s story about Jesus calling Peter and Andrew, the first disciples.
Today we’ll hear Matthew’s version of the same event (which is considerably
different, actually!). This is the year we will be focusing on reading
Matthew’s Gospel, with a few detours through John, so I wanted to give you a
little overview of Matthew’s approach to the Jesus story.
Matthew was
writing for a Jewish audience, and so you will often see him drawing on their
sacred scripture – what we call the Old Testament. In fact, you’ll see that
today, where Matthew will tell us, “This was to fulfill what the prophet
wrote,” and then he’ll quote a text from Isaiah – the same one that we will be
hearing this morning. The reference gives reason for why Jesus did the bulk of
his ministry in Galilee. His constant referring to Hebrew scripture is intended
to give validity to the Jesus story for his Jewish audience, like saying, “See,
your prophets said this would happen, and now here it is, happening!” He argues
that Jesus IS the Davidic Messiah that they have been waiting for.
Some other
themes in Matthew: he is incredibly organized, almost obsessively so. Jesus’
ministry is organized into five sections, the Five Books of Jesus, to echo the
Five Books of Moses (the Torah, the first 5 books of the OT). In fact, Matthew
paints Jesus as a sort of “new Moses.” We’ll see that especially in the next
few weeks when we hear Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. Jesus will say,
“You’ve heard it said [in the law of Moses] this way, but I tell you that this
is the law.” Matthew hits home that Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to
fulfill it, and so Jesus’ words, and his reinterpretation of the law, have
ultimate authority.
Another
important theme for Matthew is God’s abiding presence. It is Matthew who gives
Jesus the name, “Emmanuel,” meaning “God with us.” And at the end of Matthew
Jesus will say, “Lo, I am with you to the end of the age.” In the midst of all
that law that we will no doubt break, this is a comforting promise!
A third major
theme in Matthew is the establishment of the Church, and what discipleship and
obedience look like in that church, and that is what we will see in our
readings today, as Jesus calls the disciple on whom he will ultimately build
his church (Peter). Sometimes discipleship is easy, as we know, and sometimes it’s
a real challenge. So listen in our readings today for words that can speak to
both situations. Let’s listen.
[READ]
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
“Follow me and
I will make you fish for people.”
It’s sort of a weird thing to say,
right? I’ll be honest, if I had been in that fishing boat, or mending those
nets, I’m not sure that would convince me to leave everything I know and follow
a guy I hadn’t really even met yet! What does that even mean, “fish for
people”?
Well maybe Jesus was being clever,
using a fishing metaphor for these fishermen. I’m sure it spoke to them
differently than it does to us 21st century Christians who aren’t
quite so intimate with fish as those first disciples. But over the years, Christians
have come to understand that phrase, “I will make you fish for people,” as
referring to evangelism: sharing with people the good news of Christ, and thus
inspiring them into a life of discipleship.
Now that is something that means a
bit more to us. During our small group gatherings last summer, one question I
asked in every group was, “What is your greatest hope for St. Paul’s?” And in
almost every group, one of the answers was, “I hope that we grow [in numbers].”
How many of you share that hope? Yeah, it’s a great answer, and one I think we
all agree with! Of course we want to grow!
But I have two
follow-up questions: First, why do you want us to grow? Is it because
you want St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on Lincoln Ave to survive? Or is it because
there is something that you get from being here that you want other
people to experience, something that you gain from your involvement in this
church that is so great, you want it for everyone? If so, and this is
important, what is that thing?
I think the
ability to answer this question is the first key to evangelism, to “fishing for
people.” It is being able to articulate, “This is why being a part of St.
Paul’s Lutheran Church – or any church, for that matter – is worth my time,” to
tell your own story, compellingly and passionately, about how your relationship
with Jesus makes your life better, and how this gathering of faithful people
who have been changed by Christ are working together to make the world better,
too.
Last week I
asked you the question Jesus asked his first disciples: “What are you looking
for?” Many of you wrote wonderful answers to that question, which I have read
and will take to heart (it’s not too late to answer, by the way, I left the
basket out). The reason I asked is that I hope that what we do here can help
you find what it is you are looking for. Then, when you want to tell someone
about why it is worth your time to be here, you can tell them about how you
find, here, what you are looking for.
My second
follow-up question in response to the desire for us to grow in numbers is,
“What are you going to do to make it happen?” Maybe you think it is my
job, as the pastor, to bring in more disciples (and you’re right, it is!), but
Jesus also says pretty clearly here that “fishing for people” is a job for a
disciple. How many of you are disciples? I hope all of you! And so, this is your
job, too.
I know, that sounds a little scary,
but it doesn’t have to be. So, let’s think together about discipleship, and
from there, what it means to “fish for people.”
First, discipleship is necessarily
relational. It’s about how we interact with other people. It is also about our
personal prayer and study, yes, but genuine faith doesn’t stay there. That’s
why the first three of the 10 commandments are about our relationship with God,
and all the rest are about our relationships with others. Faith is relational.
With that in mind, then, there are three essential words that can inform us about
“fishing for people.”
First, invite. That’s a pretty
obvious one, I hope, and was exemplified in last week’s Gospel lesson, where
Andrew determined that Jesus was the messiah, and so he invited his
brother Simon to “come and see.” And it definitely has credence. Many studies
in church growth have found that the number one reason people go to a church
for the first time is that they were invited by someone. Simple enough, huh? And
yet, it’s not. Can you remember the last time you invited someone to church –
if ever? Maybe we are embarrassed, or don’t want to intrude on someone’s
personal life… Or maybe it’s just because we haven’t found the right
opportunity.
So with that in mind, here is what I
suggest: take a moment right now to think about someone you know, someone with
whom you have a relationship, and who is not involved in a church. Maybe even
jot the name down on your bulletin. Now, during this week, here’s my challenge
to you: pray that God would give you an opportunity to invite that person to
church. Notice I didn’t say, pray that they would come to know Jesus and walk
into church all on their own, though that would also be nice. No, I’m asking
you to pray for yourself, that you would have the courage and the
opportunity to be a fisher of people, to invite that person to
participate in something that is meaningful to you.
The second word is: befriend.
This can mean a lot of things, but I’m thinking about it in terms of the fish
who are already here – all of you! I heard a story about a man who was a member
of a large church, but was considering leaving that church. “I’ve been an
active member there 20 years,” he said, “And I only know maybe 12 people.” Now,
this may reflect upon him, and how much effort he has put into getting involved
and meeting people, but it also reflects upon the congregation – how many
members in that large church had made an effort to befriend him?
Well, be honest: how are you at
befriending people who are already a part of this church? We talk about “our
church family” but being a family is not always a good thing, because families
can be terribly difficult to break into! I know I started this sermon by
talking about the desire to grow in numbers, but there is also a benefit of
having a smaller community – we are small enough that we could really all know
each other’s names. So what would happen if we all made a goal, even just one
Sunday a month, of introducing ourselves to someone new, of any age, and chat
for a few minutes. After all, we all have something in common – we’ve just been
to church together! You could talk about the sermon, or the music, or about how
long you’ve lived in the community. You could make an effort to remember their
name, and say hello the following week. It could be a lot of fun – you could
make a new friend – but it is also a part of discipleship: fishers of people befriend.
The last word is love. Love is
simple to say, and to know intellectually… but much harder to do! Though it is
central to our faith, Christians don’t always do such a great job of modeling
it in the world, and never have – just look at the church in Corinth, a
community racked with dissention and disagreement, as we can see in our epistle
reading today. Loving one another is hard because we are so different. We
have different politics and opinions, different life experiences, different
perspectives on world events. Though we can agree on some outcomes – like,
abolishing world hunger – we disagree on how to get to that point. We don’t
think or act or approach life in the same way… and yet, we are one in Christ.
Discipleship means loving one another despite those differences, loving others
without restrictions or prerequisites, forgiving those who offend you, and
accepting that people can disagree with you and still be good people. Fishing
for people means loving one another.
I’ll be honest – some days, this all
sounds like a lot of work. And I wonder, why go through the trouble? The answer
is, because Jesus did it all for me, for all of us. Jesus invited us
into relationship with him, invited us to “come and see” and experience new
life in him. Jesus befriended us, against all odds, even though we, like
his original disciples, deny, rebuke, and desert him all the time. And Jesus loves
us, even when we fall short of the demands of discipleship, and continually
invites us back into relationship with him.
You see, as disciples of Jesus,
followers of Jesus, our job is to try in every way to mimic him, to do as he
does, to live as he showed and taught. Discipleship is to live in relationship
with our neighbors, inviting them into the life-giving story of Jesus,
befriending them even despite differences, and love them even when they are
unlovable. May the God who calls us to this, graciously give us the power to do
it.
Let us pray… Gracious God, you
have called us into this marvelous ministry of sharing your good news with
others. Give us the courage and the opportunity to invite, befriend, and love
our neighbors as you have done to us. In the name of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
