Matthew 4: 12-23

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw 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.

As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.

Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. 

On the Road Again

Broad Street – January 27, 2008

Robert Two Bulls, who was associate rector of an Episcopal Church in Southern California when Terry and I lived in Pasadena, tells of a man named White Plume who lived on a very large Indian Reservation in the early 1900s.

White Plume was a deacon, which the Episcopal Church calls a “special ministry of servanthood,” and he felt called to serve people all around the reservation, which required a lot of traveling.

In those days, most people in rural areas didn’t have automobiles; and on the reservation, nearly everyone relied on horseback or horse-drawn wagons. Traveling any distance could be quite challenging.

The government had instituted a policy of assimilation, and one aspect of this policy required churches on the reservations to convert the native people to Christianity. (I can only assume that no one at the Bureau of Indian Affairs had read the Constitution.)

For the most part, traditional “Indian” ceremonies had gone underground, and native Americans were attending the Christian churches. There were no doubt many who never experienced real conversion; but they would say they were Christians to keep out of trouble.

Some, though, like White Plume, truly did become filled with the Holy Spirit.

Some time after his ordination as a deacon, White Plume was called to serve in another part of the reservation. Loading up his family and packing only the bare essentials, he hitched his team to the wagon and began his journey, leaving behind his home and everything that was familiar. He even left his livestock, and the story has it that he went rolling down the road in his little wagon, with the remaining animals trying to follow behind… but eventually giving up the chase. His house stood empty, and before long it disappeared behind a forest of prairie grass.

What makes this story extraordinary is the historical context. At a time when the U.S. government was intent on “settling” native Americans in stable communities, God was calling White Plume to do just the opposite. The government’s policies were designed to make the native population just like the rest of Americans. For some tribes, this required a dramatic transformation — from nomadic hunter warriors roaming the Great Plains to docile farmers living in log houses on small tracts of land, in less than 50 years… and not by choice. If they wanted to move, they needed special permission from the Superintendent of Indian Affairs — a person who held tremendous power over their lives.

And they had to listen to missionaries, teaching about Christianity.

Then there was White Plume. His life prior to being called by God was a perfect example of how the assimilation policy was supposed to work. Yet after he became settled, educated, and a Christian — in fact, because he became a Christian — White Plume left everything and answered God’s call.

Neither his house, nor his personal belongings, nor his animals, nor the land he was farming slowed his response to God. He simply walked away from everything he’d been working for.

White Plume answered the call to follow Christ and took a brave step away from his former life. Like centuries of disciples before him, he was walking freely into the future, with Christ as his guiding light.

His story is a lot like the one in this morning’s Gospel lesson: After spending 40 days in the wilderness and hearing that John the Baptist had been arrested, Jesus got back on the road and walked to Galilee to live and launch his ministry by the sea.

But Matthew says Jesus “withdrew to Galilee,” almost implying that he was going into hiding. After his cousin’s arrest, that might have been a reasonable response; but within a few verses the narrative tone shifts dramatically, and it becomes clear that Jesus was doing just the opposite:

Quickly advancing his ministry and picking up four disciples, he began performing miracles, “curing every disease and every sickness” — but not before taking up the mantle of John the Baptist, proclaiming: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!”

In the few verses of this morning’s lesson, we have a “mini-preview” of great themes that will unfold throughout the Gospels:

•   The prophecy and traditions of the Hebrew Scriptures are fulfilled in Jesus Christ;

•   Repentance is essential to salvation;

•   Jesus calls us to follow him; and

•   When he calls, we must be ready to change our lives without hesitation.

Here we are at the beginning of a new year — it’s January in the secular world, and we’ve just begun the first period of “Ordinary Time” on the liturgical calendar. What’s more, our church is in a time of transition, looking forward to a new era of leadership. There couldn’t be a better time to reflect on what God is calling us to be and to do in the world… and this morning’s Gospel lesson gives us a fitting context for that reflection.

As Jesus was walking along near the Sea of Galilee, he saw two fishermen, Simon and Andrew, who were brothers. He said to them, “Follow me, and I will teach you to fish for people.”

They immediately dropped everything they were doing and left with him. And as they walked along, they saw two more brothers, James and John, and Jesus again “called them.” They, too, responded quickly and abruptly.

These four fishermen heard the call from Christ himself and didn’t hesitate to follow. With no doubt in their minds, they left behind everything familiar — everything that had been meaningful to them.

Simon and Peter left their boats to follow Christ. James and John literally left their father Zebedee sitting in the boat to finish the day’s work. We can only imagine what Zebedee might have said.

Remember, this was a patriarchal society, and James and John were being totally negligent and disrespectful to their father. But apparently the call was so strong and immediate, they didn’t stop to consider the consequences.

When Jesus spotted these men at work, mending and casting their nets, he must have seen more than just your average fishermen. He saw their potential and their vibrant personalities. Maybe he could “see through them,” or read their minds. But whatever may have occurred, the fact is that Jesus saw them.

They didn’t notice Jesus until he called them. But they heard and they followed.

Discipleship — the formation of Christian disciples — began with Jesus and a few ordinary tradesmen on the shores of Lake Galilee. From that moment, they were no longer fishermen, but “fishers of men” — disciples of Jesus Christ.

Matthew says, “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” The fishermen’s response seems entirely spontaneous.

Their decision was radical, and extremely personal. They let go of personal property, their livelihood, family, and the whole social structure in which their identities had been formed. Their action was an expression of pure faith. By letting go of their past, they were free to follow Jesus into his future — not a future of better fishing or stronger nets, but a future of earth-shaking, world-changing greatness.

Now for most of us, our calling isn’t likely to be as dramatic as the first disciples’. We may take months, or even years, before we can say, “Yes, I’m ready to follow.”

But here’s a word of advice: you don’t have to be as slow as I was. It took me nearly 40 years to answer the call that came to me as an adolescent in the 1950s.

Better you should follow the example of White Plume, and so many others who have gone before us.

But whenever you hear God’s call, and whenever you’re ready to respond, I pray that you will answer with the certainty of those first disciples.

And when that moment comes, may we all leave the darkness of the past behind us, as we walk in the light of Christ.

When we follow an authentic leader — when we follow our Lord — there’s no need to cling to the past, or to worry about undoing our mistakes. For most of us, that could take a lifetime.

Jesus only asks that we repent, and look to the future.

And when we follow Jesus, we know that he doesn’t care where we are or where we’ve been. He only cares where we’re going.

Our past is… forgiven. And as Christians we are all, in Paul’s words, “united in the same purpose” when we respond to God’s call, and follow.

Amen.

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