January 24, 2010 Sermon

The Call to Follow
Matthew 4:12-25

Jesus has received baptism. He has passed the temptation test. Herod has arrested John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin. The preliminaries have ended. The time has come for Jesus to kick-start his ministry. His first move is a move. Matthew 4:13 tells us “he left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea (of Galilee).”  I cannot say that I remember knowing this. But Jesus leaves Joseph and Mary's home and establishes his own before starting his work. His relocation accomplishes two things: it takes him to place that will become the geographic heart of his ministry, and it fulfills yet another prophecy.

Hundreds of years before, Isaiah the prophet heard the word of the Lord. God gave him a message to broadcast to the people of Israel. Part of it foretold that “on the road by the sea...Galilee” a great light would appear. People who had long cowered in the shadow of death would see a new light that had dawned. Now Jesus has moved to the town of Capernaum. He has continued his life-long habit of living out the predictions of the prophets. Later, people like Matthew who knew the Old Testament prophecies would see how again and again Jesus made them come true before their very eyes. And what does Jesus have to say, now that he has started his work as the long-expected Messiah?  He preaches, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  Earlier, his cousin John the Baptist preached precisely the same words. Now King Herod will know that his arrest of John has not stopped that kingdom from breaking into the world. Now the people will know that God's plan will come to fulfillment.

But what is this kingdom of heaven?  And what does having it “come near” mean?  Jesus does not explain himself at this time. Later in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus will use preaching, parables and even his actions to reveal the kingdom of heaven. As we work through this Gospel this winter and spring we will learn from a few of these teaching moments. For now, we move on as he does. He walks along the lakeshore. (The Sea of Galilee is actually a big lake about seven miles wide by twelve miles long, roughly the size and shape of Grand Traverse Bay from the point of Old Mission Peninsula out to Lake Michigan.)  The Sea of Galilee can get choppy; the wind can churn up high waves. It teems with fish. In Jesus' day it was the economic engine of an entire region. Many men made a living from it. Some pulled fish from its waters. Others bought and sold those fish, or supplied the fishermen with raw materials, or boats, nets and bait.

Fishermen who own their own boats on the Sea of Galilee make a decent living. They work hard, but they do not have to worry about providing for their families. Jesus walks up to two such men, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and tells them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”  Matthew says they do so immediately. Do not miss the hardship this creates for them. When they put down their nets they put down security. They put down their ability to provide not only for their wives and children, but likely also for their aging parents. They put down their way of life. Yet they do not hesitate. Something about Jesus makes them do it. Then he repeats the performance, walking farther on (presumably with Simon and Andrew in tow) and tells two more brothers, James and John, to come along.

Immediately they, too, follow Jesus. Now he has four disciples. Here at the Northern Lakes Community Church we say we make disciples. We add that disciples “follow Jesus”. This type of following is anything but casual. I follow the Cincinnati Reds and the Indiana Hoosiers. When they play a game I become interested in finding out whether they win or lose. Later today I will watch the Indianapolis Colts play in the AFC championship game and I will care about the outcome. You may follow the careers of celebrities or the doings of your friends or of the legislature. Maybe what you follow will actually have an impact on your life. On just such a deeper level, my mother followed my father through job changes and transfers all across the northeastern quarter of this nation. But disciples follow Jesus still more profoundly. They have made a life-changing decision. Though they may not know it at this time, they will follow him to the cross—and beyond. If we truly make disciples of Jesus we allow the Holy Spirit of God to use us to make each other into people who follow Jesus all the way into the kingdom of heaven. Become a disciple. Follow Jesus.

Matthew informs us that Jesus walked throughout the area around the Sea of Galilee “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and sickness among the people.”  From the start Jesus does all three of the things that will make up the bulk of his ministry. He teaches. He preaches. He heals. And, Matthew adds, his fame will spread across the region. Great crowds will follow him wherever he goes. No doubt many in those crowds follow him out of curiosity. He is the new kid in town, the buzz. They will stay with him until they grow bored or he wanders farther from their homes than they find convenient. Do we follow Jesus as shallowly?

Jesus someday will tell a parable that compares the different ways people follow him to seeds planted in different types of soil. Some seeds, he will say, get planted in shallow soil. These plants take root and grow, but when the sun turns on the heat they quickly whither. How deeply are we planted as disciples of Jesus?  Later today we will receive two young men into membership in this congregation. This is always good news but today perhaps it is better news. Jack and Ben Miller both have Aicardi-Goutieres Syndome, a rare genetic disorder. At this point in their lives nobody, not even their extremely attentive mother, Donna, can say how well the boys understand, or even perceive, their environment. We simply do not know what they know, what they think. For example, we do not know what they know about Jesus. Still, their parents have requested that we receive them as members. Being Presbyterians, we had to look into certain Book of Order questions before agreeing to take this step. But we have done our homework. The elders and I have received an education in the process. And now we joyfully receive them. After all, Jesus knows them. Because he does, we believe they know him.
 
Let us consider the faith of these parents, Chris and Donna Miller. I do not wish to embarrass them. I do not wish to label them as heroes. I do, however, wish to state that nobody could accuse them of following Jesus shallowly. They have born a great burden for many years. Their hearts are heavy. They are physically exhausted. They must listen to the rest of us tell stories about our children and grandchildren. If anybody I know has a good excuse to stop following Jesus it would be these two. Yet they continue. They continue to believe in a loving God. They continue to come to church, usually with Jack and Ben. They believe their boys follow Jesus, too. Discipleship drips from their pores. They have followed Jesus through affliction the likes of which few comprehend.

Can we not follow their example and follow Jesus?  Many of the things we cling to have value. They may include our very livelihoods, as with Simon, Andrew, James and John. Yet many of the things we cling to have no value or even work to destroy our discipleship. Become a disciple. Follow Jesus. Let the power of the Holy Spirit—the power that keeps faith alive in parents' aching hearts, the power that rekindles dead faith in mourning spouses, the power that eases angry souls with the peace of Christ—yes, let the Holy Spirit go to work in you. Become a disciple. We have spoken repeatedly of the things we can do to develop our walk with Christ. We have spoken of worship, prayer, Bible study, fellowship with the church and so forth. Today, we lift up the way the Holy Spirit works by example.

I have often made a little joke about a couple in this congregation. I will not name them now, but I will repeat my little jest: when I grow up, I want to be just like them. I want to use the time and energy and abilities God has given me as faithfully as they do.  I want to let the love of Jesus reflect off of me like it does them. I want God to use me as effectively as God uses them. Meanwhile, I recognize what a gift God has given not only me, but our entire church, with their presence. They set an example for us to follow. They do not follow Jesus perfectly, but they show many how to follow him better. The Holy Spirit works through them by example to show others how to become closer disciples of Jesus.

Jesus calls us to become disciples. He calls us to become serious followers of his. God has created the church, in part, to form those disciples. Here at Northern Lakes Community Church we have people who show us the way by holding onto their faith through affliction. We have people who show us the way through long-term faithful service. We have people who show us the way through teaching, through mentoring relationships with our youth and through any number of other actions.

Let us follow one another as together, we seek to follow Jesus. He calls. Let us become ever-closer disciples.