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3 Epiphany A—January 26, 2014
Isaiah 9:1-4
Psalm 27:1, 5-13
I Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23
The Very Rev. David R. Wilt
Remember last weeks Gospel of John after Jesus was
Baptized John the Baptist was standing with two of his disciples
when Andrew proclaims Jesus the lamb of God and tells his
brother Simon Peter about him and they become the first two
apostles. As easy as converting a couple of Lutherans into the
Episcopal Church, better choir, fancier liturgy shorter sermons
and better networking opportunities. End of the story, right?
But here today, just a week later we have Jesus walking by
the Sea of Galilee and he sees two brothers, Simon, who is called
Peter and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea—for they
were fishermen. And, he said to them, “Follow me, and I will
make you fish for people. Immediately they left their nets and
followed him.
These are two very different stories and we can get caught up in
which was right and why they are so different and we will,
unfortunately, miss the whole point of the calling of Andrew and
Peter. These are stories about the very nature of discipleship.
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This was not a matter of convenience for either of these
guys. It wasn’t choosing the prettiest church to get married in or
making the occasional gift because we need an income tax
deduction or even getting Baptized because six generations of
people have been Baptized in a particular church and then never
being seen again.
It was a total commitment on their part. It involved dropping
everything, their families, their livelihood, their friends literally
dropping everything and following Jesus. It was far more than
being merely involved in a religious movement of the time.
Joining up with the Church of What’s Happening Now.
It’s kind of like the chicken and the pig discussing breakfast
and the chicken says, “That’s my favorite meal.” To which the pig
replies, “That’s easy for you to say because you are only involved
in breakfast. For me it’s a total commitment”
In Simon’s case it even involved a name change. Andrew
and Simon’s following was not about gaining power or control it
was about submission to the will of God in the person of Jesus
Christ.
So which was the truer story?
It just so doesn’t matter whether Andrew and Simon were
already followers of John the Baptist and suddenly were drawn to
this one known as Jesus. It doesn’t matter whether they were
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already “religious.” Just as it doesn’t matter whether they had
never embraced religion at all, other than praying their nets
would be full when they pulled them up.
What matters is that when they choose to follow Jesus it was
much more than a commitment to come to church at least on
Christmas and Easter, (not that we don’t love our C and E’s). It
was much more than a commitment to pledge (not that there is
anything wrong with pledging).
It was a life changing event of the first order and their lives
would be forever changed. They didn’t wait for the conditions to
be right, for that opportune moment to proclaim their piety. They
dove in, full emersion. And, maybe that’s what we need to do if
we really want to get to know God better. Take the plunge and
move from involvement to commitment.
Now how does that really play out in the real world?
Well, let’s just take the phrase, “Love your neighbor as I
have loved you.” That rolls off our tongues so very easily in
church, it’s almost melodious,“Love your neighbor as I have loved
you.” But to live it the other six days and twenty three hours is
something else again. It means embracing others who may not
be like us at all, and truly trying to understand their point of view
and not being so focused on changing their minds to our point of
view.
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The actions of Andrew and Simon went far beyond trying to
fit religion into our already busy schedules. It means placing our
relationship with God at the top of the list and perhaps letting
some other things slide off of the list.
What if the story in John and the story in Matthew could be
reconciled, and I think they can be. Perhaps that might give us an
insight into our own journeys of faith.
Let’s say that Andrew and Simon were indeed disciples of
John the Baptist. Let’s say that Andrew had heard about Jesus
and perhaps had even seen Jesus somewhere along the way.
Andrew may have even told his brother Simon about Jesus.
That would coincide with a lot of our own lives. We all know
Jesus’ reputation. We all know that Jesus is supposed to be the
Son of God. We all know the story of the crucifixion and
resurrection. It is safe to say that Jesus’ reputation precedes him.
We have probably, since most of us were children, been exposed
to the wonderful stories of Jesus’ teaching and miracles.
So let’s give John the benefit of the doubt and say that yes
indeed Andrew was aware of this Jesus guy and that he shared
this information with Simon. But knowing all about who Jesus is
and who he is supposed to be does not necessarily result in
following Jesus. And, that is where the story in Matthew picks up.
Jesus sees the two brothers and calls them to be disciples and
then they have, for the first time, a real decision to make. They
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may have known Jesus by his reputation, but the decision to
follow him was based purely on faith.
And, that is a decision that, if we are to be disciples of Christ.
we all must make regardless of how it may affect the lives we are
currently leading. Many never get past the admiration of the
reputation to the leap of faith to discipleship.
And why do so many commit and then drift away?
More than once Jesus deliberately addressed certain issues
that quickly diminished the number of onlookers. It was
commitment that thinned the ranks not the knowledge of who
Christ is and what he is calling us to do.
So, how did Andrew and Simon fare after committing to
follow Christ?
Well there is an interesting bit of trivia that there are no
accounts in the Bible where any of the disciples, even those who
are described as fishermen, caught fish unless Jesus was in the
boat. But, when he was present the nets were overflowing.