The Gospel Matthew 4:12-23
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
After the Gospel:
The Christmas cards I received this year were fewer and far between.
And even some of those were disappointing: Frosty the Snowman, or the One-horse Sleigh, or cute little reindeer. One of my nieces apologized: “You can’t find religious cards anymore… this is all Walmart stocks!”
Which makes me rather proud of Gethsemani’s cards … photos of Crib sets, just like you’d find in your home… Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus in a manger…
A picture that says it all. That’s what we’re celebrating.
However, I did set one card aside, mostly large clear words…
If our greatest need was information, God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need was technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need was money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need was entertainment, God would have sent us a celebrity.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
— Roy Lessin
Below the words, in a bottom corner, a silhouette … solid black shapes of Joseph and Mary on either sides of the Baby Jesus lying in a manger.
God sent us a Savior! Which is what Christmas is all about!
We could never reach up to heaven for help, so He came down to us! To save us!
Brothers, the Christmas story is over! The time has come!
Today’s gospel tells us how Jesus chose to begin his work as Savior. Not where everyone would expect – in Jerusalem – He heads north, to places known for darkness, where there was Gentile influence, where people spoke in strange accents. To the hills, the boonies.
He sets up His base of operations in the old northern tribal lands of “Zebulun” and “Naphtali,” He makes “Capernaum” his home, which fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah.
And the Savior begins to preach.
A simple message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Repent! Jesus has come for people who have darkness within them,
He’s going to expose sin for what it is,
he’ll call people to fight it, and turn from sin,
he’ll help them escape feelings of guilt about sin.
Which is an arrow shot straight at my heart.
I’m the one in need of that message, of that Messiah.
We tend to think God loves US,
Jesus came to save US, we’re just a crowd to God, a mass of faces.
But I can’t hide my sins in some anonymous mass of US,
neither is salvation lost in some anonymous mass of US.
“Repent and believe” is for me personally.
Jesus also begins to call disciples. Fishermen.
He didn’t choose them because they were great, and he didn’t keep them around for that reason, He could smell fish all over their hands… imagine Peter smelling of fish.
He knew they were ordinary men, whose manners could be rough, whose language could be crude. But he knew what he was doing. He chose them, because He wanted them to be with Him, He wanted them to be a part of His movement.
He called them. And the mystery is, they obeyed.
Fish was a staple in their diet, they could sell all they could catch, so they were leaving rather profitable jobs, comfortable and familiar surroundings, setting out for the unknown.
But they followed, because he accepted them as they were, and they wanted to be accepted by this Man from God, they needed to be accepted by God..
They ended up following him as He went around all of Galilee,
They heard him teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming God’s kingdom was at hand,
they saw him curing every disease and illness among the people.
From that day on, their ordinary lives were changed forever, they were connected to Jesus.
That day was the first step … of what turned into an ongoing process of Jesus saturating their lives with his presence and power.
Daily grew their awareness of their need for him in the everyday things of life.
They not only walked with Jesus, they were filled with Jesus, they were led by Jesus in every place and in every way.
Which is what discipleship means.
For a coupla years, I’ve been doing a Fr. Matthew thing…
Taking the best of my Christmas cards, propping it up on my desk,
‘Longside a sprig of pine branch … My personal crib set and Christmas tree!
Which is important …
Because as Fr. Matthew used to remind us ….WHY …
It’s for you .. It’s for me…
He loves me the way I am, and He did all this for me:
The bright leading star,
three kings from Persia,
choirs of angels,
shepherds hearing a message from heaven,
the ox, the ass,
The Babe lying on their hay … He did it all for me! He did all this for each of us personally!
So when the Savior comes preaching the kingdom, he’s preaching it to me!
When he calls his disciples, he’s calling me… I’m one of the Latter Day Disciples…
When he says: Leave your former life, your fishing and your nets, your comfort zone — REPENT! Reframe your life into a new purpose … He’s looking at me!
When he brings his message of hope and mercy for the lost, the broken, and those in spiritual darkness… That’s me he’s reaching for…
That’s us …
Once you finally realize He chose us, because He wanted us to be with Him, He wanted us to be a part of His movement…
Then we no longer obey because we want Him to accept us …
We obey – we follow – because we know He’s accepted us.
We know that He loves us as His own.
And that makes all the difference in the world.