“Called To Live in the Light”

Matthew 4:12-23

Rev. Deborah Church Worley

January 26, 2020

White Rock Presbyterian Church

“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.” (Matthew 4:17-20)

We have a Jerry Seinfeld CD that we like to listen to in the car occasionally, to help pass the time on road trips.  One of the most memorable bits, in my opinion, is one in which he talks about people’s fears. This is what he says: “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right?….This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off [being the one] in the casket than [being the one] doing the eulogy.” (Jerry Seinfeld)

Is anyone here that afraid of public speaking?  🙂  

I wonder, what are the things we’re afraid of?

I asked my kids that, separately, and got a surprising variety of answers. This time, two of the three gave me permission to share their answers, as long as I didn’t say who said what. 🙂 

One immediately, without having to think at all, said, “Spiders!!”

Another had to think for a moment, but then gave a very different answer: “Dying. Or someone close to me dying. Or having someone close to me, or me, involved in a traumatic event where we could have died…. Well, that, and extreme weather.” 🙂 

What about some of you? Any quick answers to that question? What are you afraid of?……..

…????…

Another type of fear came up in another conversation. This was a conversation I had early last week with a friend from childhood, about topics ranging from children, to marriage, to perfectionism, to our need to be in control, to personal faith experiences–although this conversation was not face-to-face but rather via Facebook messaging, which in my experience can make meaningful conversation easier sometimes, and less threatening. And this was not in response to any kind of question from me, but simply in the course of our conversation. Toward the end of quite a bit of pretty honest sharing, my friend said, “I just wish I could have this conversation with my [spouse].  I don’t know what my problem is, but it’s always been there, and I don’t like getting too close to the people I’m closest to, if that makes any sense at all!”

What I said to him, and what I truly believe, is that I think it makes perfect sense.  It’s risky–it’s scary–to let people know how we really feel, to let people hear how we really think, to let people really see us.  Especially the people closest to us.  Because what if we let them really see how we feel…what we think…who we really are, deep down inside…and they decide, “Yeah…I’m not so sure I like that…” And they walk away. Then what??  

It can seem so much safer to only let people–especially the people we love the most–see what we think they’ll approve of, what we think they’ll be comfortable with, what we think they think is okay….because then we don’t have to be afraid of them leaving. We don’t have to be afraid of being judged. We don’t have to be afraid of being deemed unworthy of their love and loyalty.

Along with a fear of spiders and hurricanes and (something someone shared?), this is a real fear. 

But Jesus, I believe, offers a different approach, a different way of interacting, a different way of being in the world. And I think we can see that in today’s passage, when he is just beginning his public ministry. But even just beginning, he is already teaching. Already offering something different. Already demonstrating that new way….

Let’s look back at the text….

First, there is a connection made between Jesus and the coming of “a great light.” The very passage that Selma read earlier, from Isaiah, is quoted in today’s passage in Matthew, offering confirmation that by Jesus making his home in Capernaum [Cah-PER-nee-um], in the region of Galilee, he was fulfilling the ancient prophecy that in that very land, which is in “the territory of Zebulun [ZEB-you-lun] and Naphtali [NAF-tuh-lee],” “the people…have seen a great light,” that “for [them]…a light has shined.”

And that light, according to Matthew, is Jesus. And that light has shined not just on any people, but on “the people who sat in darkness”… “the people who sat in the region and shadow of death.”

That doesn’t sound like a very fun place to be! Darkness and death? It sounds pretty terrible, actually– sitting in darkness, sitting in the region and shadow of death… I can imagine whatever that actually looked like, whatever the reality was that created an environment of darkness and death…there was a lot of fear. All kinds of fear. 

But now, Matthew says, in the midst of all of that–all of that fear, and threat of death, and darkness–a new and great light has shined. Jesus has come. Jesus has come, and is walking among them. Jesus has come, and is demonstrating, and teaching, and offering, a new way. Jesus has come, and according to Jesus himself, in this new way, is showing them the very kingdom of heaven.

“The kingdom of heaven has come near,” he says! It’s here! Right now! Among you. Because I’m here, right now, among you. I will show you the kingdom of heaven, he tells them. I will show you what it looks like. I will show how to be a part of it. I will show you how to live in it. I will show how to not be afraid.

How? Well, it seems the first step is to repent. In fact, that’s what Jesus says first:  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Turn to God….and see the kingdom of heaven. Change your life’s orientation, to God….and be a part of the kingdom of heaven. Live centered, in God….and live within the kingdom of heaven! Repent…and don’t be afraid.

Wellll, okay…but again, how? 

Well, looking back at the text, what does Jesus do next? He calls his first disciples, right? Simon (Peter) and Andrew. Two brothers, fisherman. The first people Jesus invites to be his disciples.

But first–did you notice?–before Jesus calls them, what does he do? Look at verse 18:  “As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers…” He saw them…. They didn’t see him and go running over. He saw them. He saw them. I think he really saw them–who they really were, deep down… And I think he loved them–who they really were, deep down… He saw them, and then he spoke to them. And he invited them to follow him–to join him, to go with him, to work with him, to learn from him how to repent, how to turn to God and live within the kingdom of heaven….

He saw them, and he spoke to them, and he invited them into a new way of being in the world–the way of abundance and not scarcity, of hope and not despair; the way of forgiveness and not vengeance, of justice and not greed; the way of peace and not anxiety, of wholeness and not brokenness; the way of freedom and not bondage, of self-giving and not self-serving. The way of light and not darkness. The way of life and not death. The way of love and not fear.

He invited them into all of this by first seeing them, and–I believe–loving them, and then by simply saying to them, “Follow me.” 

Now, I suspect they didn’t really know all of that when they “immediately…left their nets and followed him.” !! I suspect, when they walked away from what had been their life’s work in order to follow Jesus, that they really didn’t know what they were getting into, or what they were in for. I’m pretty sure that, when they left their families and their homes to follow Jesus, there’s no way they could have known all that was ahead of them, or even had much of an idea of the things that they would see and hear and experience in the days and weeks and months and years to come.

But they knew something. Something made them say, “Okay.” Something made them say yes. Something made them walk away from their lives as they had known them up to that moment, and the comfort and routine and security and familiarity that those lives offered, and follow this man Jesus.

Could it have been that they felt seen? And not just seen, as with the eyes? Not just seen the ways others saw them–just as fisherman, just as sons, just as brothers, just as hard-workers, just as hooligans, just as the guys down the road, just as Jews, just as…any other number of descriptive yet limiting ways?

But really, deeply, truly seen…as with the eyes of the soul? Seen…and known…and somehow loved? By this man who was inviting them to see, and be a part of, the very kingdom of heaven?? Here on earth?? Right now??

Hmmm…what a thing to imagine, right? What that might have been like, being seen, and in that moment, being deeply known and loved, and being invited to walk alongside that man, invited to draw near to the very kingdom of heaven, invited to both witness and participate in the manifestation of that kingdom, on earth, right in the midst of daily living…..??

What a thing to imagine!

The thing is, that “thing” is not something to just imagine. That “thing” is not something to just read about and remember and even reflect on. That “thing” is something to respond to. And not just for Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John, and the other disciples.

But for you. And you. And you. And me. For all of us.

Because that “thing” that happened to Simon Peter and Andrew, is still happening. Jesus is still here, still among us, seeing us–really seeing us, you and me…and deeply knowing us, and unconditionally loving us…and he is calling us to follow him. Calling us to repent, to turn to God, to turn fully to God, to center our lives in God… And inviting us, through that process, to draw near to the very kingdom of heaven,

Inviting us to both witness and participate in the manifestation of that kingdom, right here and now,

On earth, right in the midst of our daily living.

Jesus sees us…and loves us…and invites us to learn a new way of being in the world–the way of abundance and not scarcity, of hope and not despair; the way of forgiveness and not vengeance, of justice and not greed; the way of peace and not anxiety, of wholeness and not brokenness; the way of freedom and not bondage, of self-giving and not self-serving. The way of light and not darkness. The way of life and not death. The way of love and not fear.

We may not know everything about what lies ahead, or what we’re in for, or what we might experience in the days and weeks and months and even years to come, but we don’t have to. We just have to know that Jesus sees us, really sees us, and seeing us, knows us, really knows us, and knowing us, loves us, deeply and unreasonably loves us. And wants us to walk with him. And learn from him. And be a witness to and a worker in the kingdom of heaven on earth, the very Reality of God….

How will you…how will I…how will we, respond?

Amen.