Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 22, 2023: Isaiah 9:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23; Psalm 27:1, 5-13
The Gospels, we know, are not historical texts. They are the stories people recorded fifty or more years after the events happened. Each Gospel tells not just slightly different stories, but when they tell the same stories, they tell them differently. In last week’s reading from John’s Gospel, John tells his followers that Jesus is the real deal, and some of them go to follow him. Andrew calls his brother Simon to join him and they follow Jesus. Jesus is not looking for followers: they come, and they enable his ministry.
Matthew tells a slightly different version of this event. In Matthew, John has been arrested. Jesus is calling people to repent. He sees Simon Peter and Andrew fishing, and calls them to him: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people”. Likewise, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, are called from their boat.
Does it matter whether Jesus’ disciples followed with an invitation or without one? Not really. Ultimately, Jesus had disciples who not just followed him, but provided companionship and support, even if that was sometimes flawed. Jesus did his work with a group who became close friends who were with him almost all the time. His ministry was supported by a community.
At times I would rather, like Andrew and Simon Peter in John’s Gospel, make the choice myself. But when I’m tired, and lack energy, I think of how nice it would be to have an invitation to respond to. In either case, it is a remarkable story: these men dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus. It was literally a life-changing event. I have heard, over the years, many sermons about how we should become fishers of people. That is, after all, what Jesus asks his first followers to be.
I am stuck, however, on what came before that. Do we go grab our friends to hear this amazing person? Or when this man calls our name, do we follow? Or do we pretend we didn’t hear someone calling, and just stick with what we’re doing? One of the aspects of Matthew’s story that never ceases to amaze me (not always in positive ways) is that the four men Jesus calls just GO. They don’t say goodbye to anyone, they don’t pack anything, they just leave.
In his sermon today, Bishop David spoke about the call to live a Jesus-centered life. Whether we have heard that there’s something exciting happening, or we are called, today’s gospel asks us how we are joining Jesus. How do we want to be part of this community?