Sermon Based on : Matthew 4. 12-23; Psalm 27. 1 & 5-13; 1 Corinthians 1. 10-18
Preached on: 3rd Sunday of Epiphany 26.01.2020
Prayer:-
As the mission and ministry of Jesus unfolds in Epiphany season, we see different perspectives through different accounts of the Gospel writers. On the first two Sundays of Epiphany we saw Matthew’s account of the visit of the magi to baby Jesus and the baptism of Jesus by John the baptist. Last Sunday we saw in John’s Gospel, John the Baptist pointing to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” which encourages Andrew and another unnamed disciple to follow and hear that wonderful question posed by Jesus, “WHAT are you looking for?” Today again we return to Matthew as Jesus picks up the mantle of ministry from John the Baptist and calls those ordinary fishermen to become extraordinary fishers of people by their living witness.
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee and called to his side “Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother;” then a bit later “James, the son of Zebedee and his brother John,”
We don’t really know why they followed Jesus, or why James and John did but their father, who was in the boat with them at the time, did not. John’s gospel (which we read last Sunday) tells us that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist so perhaps the men already know of Jesus, or even know Him.
We can be pretty certain that those who watched them walk away felt that those who went were fools.
On the face of it, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? Matthew makes it clear that these men were gainfully employed commercial fishermen – casting their nets, out in their boats. And, in the case of James and John, we know immediately that they were turning their backs on commitments to family members, “they left their boat and their father.” For what? To fish for people? What does that even mean? Where’s the profit in that? It reminds me The Parable of the Hidden Treasure which appears in Matthew 13:44, and illustrates the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven.
We just sang a beautiful hymn written by Isaac Watts:-
1.When
I survey the wond’rous Cross
On
which the Prince of Glory died,
My
richest Gain I count but Loss,
And
pour Contempt on all my Pride.
2.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the Death of Christ
my God:
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice
them to his Blood.
Paul says in Philippians 3.7 “But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ”
These fishermen followed Jesus, and it as a result of their faith and the faith of others like them that we find ourselves here today. And our call to follow Jesus is the same as theirs.
We know that the disciples left their nets and followed Jesus. Following someone like an itinerant preacher like Jesus implied that life was never going to be static and that they were therefore always going to be on something of a journey. There was an initial decision to follow Him, followed by the actions and upheaval that it would entail. The disciples did not know where it would lead them or the joy and hardships which were to come, but they followed Jesus.
And
as they went on the journey with Jesus, so their knowledge and
experience of Him would evolve and deepen, it did not remain static.
They discovered new things about Him, sometimes radical and shocking,
and began to understand about what His presence in their lives and
the world really meant. The real meaning of His incarnation.
In the same way, Jesus invites us as His followers on that same journey, invites us to come to know more and more about Him and His relevance for us and the world around us. And in the same way, our spiritual lives should not remain static and our faith should develop from our early understandings as we follow Him. We should expect to learn more about Him.
And, almost by definition, if you are on a journey you can’t take everything with you. Just like the disciples, we too may be called to leave some things behind as we journey with God, sometimes the very things that give us security and some degree of comfort. But moving on does imply leaving some things behind. Like the early disciples we may not know what we are being called to. But like those early fishermen, we are called to leave our own nets, those things which give us earthly security, and follow Him.
Part of that leaving behind what contained is the key message Jesus gives to all who would seek to follow Him. Repent. Turn (back) to God, because the Kingdom of heaven is near. Coming close to God so He can come close to us as we turn to Him. Turn away and leave the things that separate us from God and turn to the things that draw us closer to Him. Each of us must look at our lives and decide “WHAT, or sometimes if necessary WHO, must I give up in order to follow Jesus, to walk the way of the cross, to fish for people?”
In our epistle this morning St. Paul appeals the Corinthian church to live together in unity. The Corinthians are plagued by party spirit. We get a hint at the divisions even in the fact that one group is reporting to St. Paul about everyone else. “Chloe’s people,” perhaps Chloe’s household or perhaps those who meet for worship in Chloe’s house, bring word to Paul that the church is fracturing (1:11). Each group has rallied to a particular leader, and the debate in Corinth revolves around the knowledge and power that each of these teachers embodies.
St. Paul appeals to them to live together in unity. This does not mean that they must sacrifice personal identity to become a collection of look-alikes. When Paul talks about having one mind, he is speaking of unity not uniformity. It is enriching this diversity-a real rainbow of peoples, ideas, cultures, goals. Here at St. Clement’s we enjoy this unity in diversity. Our unity is in Jesus Christ. Our unity is not in our wisdom, our knowledge, our behaviour, our background, but in Christ Jesus. It is God’s power in the cross of Jesus Christ that has formed us into a community, that sustains us on our life’s journey.
Paul is asking to the Corinthians to live up to their identity in Christ. In verse 10 of our epistle this morning he appeals to them “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The name of Jesus is not only the authority by which Paul calls them to account, it is the name that makes the Corinthians one.
While the first followers with Jesus had the up front and personal experience of his mission and ministry, it was those who followed the followers that became the constructors of the life in faith we continue to this day.
Jesus calls us as His followers to be fishers of people. To go and tell the Good News of His kingdom, the good news of love, justice and peace and for all that others may come to be His followers too.
In
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen