Sermon: Third Sunday after Epiphany, Matthew 4:12-23, January 22, 2023Faith-La Fe Lutheran Church, Pastor Veronica Alvarez

Sermon: Third Sunday after Epiphany, Matthew 4:12-23, January 22, 2023

Faith-La Fe Lutheran Church, Pastor Veronica Alvarez

Have you ever been in a group or with a friend planning to go somewhere but you do not know the way?

and your friend said “just follow me” and you do.

You have no idea where you are going, but you are trusting your friend to get you there!

Well, that is our passage for this morning Jesus the light of our world is inviting us to get out of our darkness and into the light that he brings in to our lives and follow him.

“Follow me.” Jesus says to Simon Peter, and his brother Andrew. Then, down the shore, a similar invitation is issued to two other brothers, James and John.

Here are two sets of brothers, working hard in the family business, casting nets into the sea, hoping to catch enough fish to make a living.

And here comes this man with an invitation that at first glance probably didn’t fall into the category of “something too good to miss.” And yet, the brothers do respond.

I wonder how we would react if a stranger approach us and said follow me.  We would look at him and think he is crazy? why would I leave my high paying job, my nice car and home, my family! For some guy that says follow me?? Can you imagen that??

There must have been something about this stranger on the shore that gave these men’s confidence to drop their nets and follow him.  

Both times, Matthew uses the same word to describe the timing of their reaction – IMMEDIATELY – and both times, Matthew tells us how the responded – they follow him. Clearly there was something different about Jesus

The great theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that the call to “follow me” was a call to “absolute discipleship,” and that it came at a pretty high cost. He also noted that when we surrounded to Jesus’ command that we experience our greatest joy.

There must have been something so provocative or intriguing about Jesus’ invitation that these four fishermen were willing to take a risk; there had to have been something else that Jesus used to lure them in.

Perhaps it is because rather than just some blind directive, he provided additional information that resonated with something they knew.

He said, “I will make you fish for people.” Jesus piqued their interest, speaking to something that was close to their hearts and perhaps at the root of who they were. He nurtured and sparked a part of them that became inspired to move forward and join him.

“Follow me.” It’s a command that comes over and over again in Scripture.

God called Abraham and Sarah to leave their home, their family, their identity, and ventured into an unfamiliar land.

God called Rahab to shelter undercover agents sent to Jericho.

God called Samuel, three times as a young boy, to be God’s servant, who later would anoint Israel’s first king.

God called prophets like Isaiah to exhort Israel's affluent people to open their eyes and see God in their midst

God called Mary to give birth to God incarnate.

And God called fishermen from their nets to follow Jesus.

From the beginning, God has called people; God has stepped into their lives and pointed them in new directions. God does this throughout the Bible.

Is this not a strong signal that God is going to call us too; that in some moment when we are involved in a normal day’s pursuits, God will walk up to the lake shore and beckon us to leave our fishing boats for a future we had not planned and follow him?

A lot of times we believe that God’s call is reserved for a select few, you know, those of us pastor types. Maybe we convince ourselves to believe that God’s call is only for special people.

However, in Matthew’s gospel that idea is challenged by the very fact that these first disciples were fishermen.

They were ordinary, everyday people, going about their very ordinary, everyday lives.

They were people who worked with their hands, who likely lived day to day, hoping they would catch enough fish to survive.

Their hands and faces were weathered by wind and sea. They probably used language they shouldn’t have. And yet, this is Jesus’ target audience.

Just like the shepherds on the hillsides heard the news of his birth, God again brings in unlikely people into the extraordinary story of our salvation.

This should cause us to take note. Maybe, God will even call us into the story – if we are open enough to hearing Jesus’ voice, “Follow Me.”

Follow me – on a cold morning in January, when the warmth of a cozy bed is even more alluring on a Sunday morning, instead of a time of worship, prayer, and study with a community of faith.

Follow me – when you see that coworker, classmate, or neighbor who seems to not have anyone to talk to, who is longing for someone to hear his or her story and offer support.

Follow me – at a dinner party where jokes become increasingly offensive, and you can’t quite bring yourself to laugh at yet another joke that brims with racism or sexism.

Follow me – to speak out for what is right.

Follow me – when you see those who are hungry, or without shelter, or who lack decent clothing, or who are oppressed and without voice;

recognize them as fellow children’ of God and respond in action – from serving breakfast at a neighbor church to tagging items for our rummage sale to working for real changes in the systems that have failed.

Follow me. God’s calls are all around us.

If the Bible says anything clearly, it says this: God calls us. Calls us to do whatever God has in mind. Calls us to set many other things aside and follow God’s will

Of course, it can be difficult to hear God’s call. There are many other places in our lives and world that make a lot of noise, too, in hopes that we will follow.

Follow Me – you need this list of products in order to make yourself look or feel your very best. With the right combination of them, you will be successful.

Follow Me – on social media, so you can keep up with the latest news and thoughts of celebrities, politicians, and friends.

Follow Me – just make up some believable excuse, even if it isn’t quite true, to spare your friend’s feelings and avoid an invitation. It’s just a little white lie, after all.

Our work, it seems, is to discern which of these “follow me”s are from God, and which might be from places that don’t quite lead us down the same path of discipleship.

To do this, we have to be open to hearing God’s call in the first place, making space in our lives, minds and hearts to be open to the kind of change God’s call might bring to us.

Through Jesus, you know the overwhelming joy of life in all its fullness now and eternal life with God.

Now we have the opportunity to assist Jesus in pointing people to the source of life. Jesus has chosen you to be a carrier of new life.

How would your life look different if you left behind your own plans and priorities and gave your life to following Jesus?

This is the process of discernment, and it helps us discover our vocation, that call that God issues to each of us as disciples.

It is a unique call, based on the skills and gifts and passions we have, and balanced with the needs of the world.

The disciples were working as fisherman, but when they received the call, they enthusiastically followed.

 And Jesus gave them a new vocation – to fish for people. He took the skills they presumably already had  (fishing) and used their abilities to help them learn how to be disciples.

I believe God’s call works in many of the same ways today.

God nurtures in us the talents, gifts, and interests that we have, and helps us find ways to use them to be a part of what God is doing in the world.

These often become identified as spiritual gifts, and range from beautiful singing voices, knitters, cooks  and compassionate hearts to the ability to organize and understand numbers.

All of these are needed for the work of Christ’s kingdom; therefore, all of us are called. We just need to know how to discern what that means for us.

Call and Discernment is a two-way street between us and God. It evokes a relationship and action. It begins with God coming to us, in the midst of our everyday, ordinary lives, and saying, “Follow Me.”

“Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.” That’s what Jesus promised his new disciples, and they left everything and followed him.

“Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.” That’s what Jesus promises us as well.

What’s standing between you and saying “Yes!” to God?

What’s standing between where you are right now and where God wants you to be?

Is there something you could be doing for God in this church or in this community?

It doesn’t have to be something spectacular. God uses small gifts just as surely as He does large ones. The best way to see God clearly is to ask Him to give you a new vision of a way you can serve.

May all of us continue in the transformation as we give our lives to Him who said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Amen